Maybe it is just me but I honestly do not believe that the papers are processed in order of receipt. I believe everything is based on how you structure your application. How all the papers you submit are organized. Whether you have everything upfront (i.e. medicals, full payment, etc.) If you do everything up front and stay ahead of the curve, chances are your papers will be processed faster because everything is already there. Your situation will also play a factor in the process. Meaning, your financial status, as well as the length of your relationship before the filing. Whether you are paying to support your spouse abroad, while you are living in Canada, and whether you have kids, etc. If you provide very little information on your relationship, your application will be scrutinized further, and delays may occur. Such that, if you have 2 years or more in emails, print them all, attach them, organize them in a way where a person can see the relationship develop into something more than just friendship. How often you visit also plays a role. Were you intimate? Did you provide information in that regard? I know some of us are private in those sections but the more you are transparent, the faster your application will go through. If an officer has to 2nd guess your application, my guess is it will end up on some other officers desk for days or months before it is looked at again. If your situation has not gotten better, you should really write a letter to the ottawa immigration office where you sent in your original application and also send a second copy of the letter to the consulate to where the 2nd half of the application originates. Back in 2002 when I submitted my first sponsorship application, I resided in Trinidad for 1.5 years. Held a perfectly sound and secure job that was permanent, and paid a good salary. The ottawa office sent me a letter that if I return to Canada, they will process my application. I returned, could not find work and put a strain on the family finances. They promised me I would hear back after 2 months of landing in Canada and we heard nothing. Thus I wrote a letter to ottawa and consulate in Trinidad. Within 4 weeks we heard back of approval (believe it or not, they even called to apologize). The entire process took 9 months. We filed in Feb 2002. She landed in Canada Oct 2002 that same year. Based on my previous experience, it all depends on your situation and as well, how you write letters to the associated offices to present your case. I don't believe it has anything to do with the order in which it is filed based on my previous experience as I know another person was waiting over 12 months and I got approved sooner than later. One other thing, those that believe lawyers will speed up the immigration process are naive. If anything, it will cost you more and it will make no difference on the duration of your application. One thing lawyers are good at is organizing the paper work because they know how to organize it so that its processed more efficiently. I suggest before you file, you do your research how to structure your application. Thats my two cents on advice. It took me 8 months to prepare the paper work to sponsor my wife. We were preparing the papers since last year Aug 2012 up until our wedding earlier this year. Our filing was almost 2 inches thick, I paid the full sponsorship & landing fees upfront and it cost me $120 to FEDEX on top. I sent in the papers in May. June 3rd we received confirmation of it being received. June 27th, I was approved as a sponsor. Now am waiting for approval for my wife from the Canadian Consulate in Kingston. Getting approved in less than 4 weeks really surprised me because I didn't expect to hear back for at least 3 months.
