It seems like such a crap shoot.
Our application was received September 6, 2013. My sponsorship was approved September 23 and moved to Ottawa.
April 11, 2014 we got an initial response back saying they wanted some additional documentation to prove our case. (We're applying as conjugal partners so we weren't surprised about that. We were pleasantly surprised that we heard anything back so quickly since we were thinking it would be late summer before we heard anything.)
We used the bulk of the 30 days we were given to produce the documentation because we wanted to consult with an immigration lawyer for advice on how best to respond. So, our additional documentation was submitted May 9.
Just one week later (May 16) we got a response asking for a court document and for me to pay the RPRF. Wow, we were so impressed that it was so quick! We needed some time to pull the court record so it was a week later (May 23) before we got the hard copy in the mail to them.
Foolish us. We figured "OK, even if it takes a few days for mailing, they'll have the documents by May 23 at the latest. It took a week to respond last time, so we should hear something around the end of May/beginning of June." Well, here we are into mid-June and we've got nothing. ECAS still shows us as "Application Received".
Dealing with CIC is such a test of patience. Not so much because of the long waits, but because it's such a blackhole with no way to know what's happening or when you'll get an answer. It would be easier to deal with if we knew our case was going to be decided on June 30 (as an example) instead of waking up every single day and wondering "Will today be the day?"