Hello everyone!
Good news!... My credit card was charged today, which was 4 weeks (to the day) after my application was physically received at MICC in Montréal. Now it feels a little more 'real'... very exciting!
Here's my unsolicited advice:
IT jobs are not officially considered "in demand", according to Immigration Québec. However, it seems (anecdotally) that Québec is a bit more subjective in its selection of applicants, taking a more "composite" outlook of the person, compared to the rest of Canada. You and your wife are young and well educated; both factors are helpful.
Stating that you're at a level 4 in French proficiency is not a good idea, unless you ARE at level 4, AND have the documentation to back it up. You must include official certification of your level of proficiency along with the documentation that you submit with the application. There are several acceptable French assessment tests, such as TEFAQ, TCFQ, TCF, etc., but you MUST include certification along with your original application. When you submit your "application", it is required to be accompanied by about 75 pounds of additional documentation! The "application" is the easy part; procuring the required supplementary documentation is the hard part.
One thing to consider is that if you don't have your application complete (i.e. no official French assessment), your application will either be placed on hold, or returned to you, until you have the complete and correct documentation. Immigration is a very detail-oriented, time-consuming process, and it's important to read ALL of the "fine print", so that you can submit a complete, current, and organized application on the FIRST try. My final application was almost 2 cm thick! It took over a year and a half to orchestrate everything, especially professional licensure issues and French assessment. (Think of it as "reverse engineering".)
Regarding "Family in Québec"... it would seem that if you can neatly and clearly state that you have a 'friend' in QC, that would be better than nobody. Make sure you clarify that it is a friend, not family. Also, the equivalence issue for diplomas... check to make sure you don't fall under the regulation of a "professional order", because you will need to get a formal equivalence acknowledgement from that professional order to send with your application.
Okay, take care!