Good luck in Chicago, I think you will do just fine. My wife and I just went through the visa process at the end of last year. I (the UK citizen) had just moved to the UK and did not have any bank statements either, but I had a letter from my employer stating wages and that was apparently enough. I got my landlord to put my wife's name on the lease along with mine. My wife submitted two employer recommendations and a resume, and we sent along print-outs of emails, letters sent by post and spent pre-paid international calling cards as 'proof' of our long-term relationship (or that our marriage wasn't some sort of immigration scam).