Well, well well, look at our little forum family growing, love it and a Big welcome to all our newbies. I am a guy who sponsored my wife with a lot of great help from my friends on this and our old forum. Met the Mrs when I worked in JA in 2006, was in a lousy marriage at the time and once I met her could not get her out of my mind. Spent a couple years with a call or 2 a month until 2008 when I made the decision to separate. Started with weekly calls which turned into a couple of calls a day mid 2008. Went back down in early 2009 for a few weeks and realized where my heart lay. Filed for a divorce and made plans to marry in Dec 09, the ex's attorney moved on without telling anyone so a few anxious months as the wedding was getting closer, finally got the papers 16 days before the wedding. Whew. Jammy, LCW, kc, Maple and a lot of other supporters on here helped me through with a lot of support, guidance and most importantly, just being there for me. As I found the forum in early 09 I gained a lot of knowledge in prepping for the application, we applied in Feb 2010 and took 9 months to get through. Had a few red flags that needed to be addressed which we were able to offer proof with the app so able to avoid an inevitable interview. Like the rest of the "older group" I stay on to offer any support and try to help those going through what is a long and grueling process. I found that sending out a little humour actually helps pass the time as I looked forward to finding new ones and helps keep the forum active. As many have mentioned, do NOT compare your case with others, there is no rhyme nor reason to why some get through in 3 months and others are 2 years. It's just life and you can do absolutely nothing to change it so accept it early so you don't stay awake wondering if you should be doing something to speed the process. We are here to assist and offer support when you start feeling a little lonely, we were there ourselves not that long ago. To quote Charlie, please stick and stay, you are very welcome. I remember not that long ago when Charlie was a newbie and looking for all the advice she could get and look at her now, one of most knowlegable members on the site, good on her and I would be shocked if her app wasn't bullet proof.
So, long story short, learn patience mi frens, you'll need it