And what about Singapore VO? It went from 7 months processing time in 2007 to 30 months in 2014. We're almost 2 months away from matching you. Also, Singapore has a 73% approval rate, but Islamabad has 83% approval rate for spouses/partners. If anything, we should be signing a petition for Singapore VO.
Anyway, it is ridiculous to make a couple wait so long to get PR (even more ridiculous that when you get an interview, the time spent waiting does not count towards the processing time) but at the same time, you can't really fault the government. Applicants from Islamabad VO have large cases of marriage fraud, just like Singapore VO. And Islamabad applicants have lots and lots of refugee claimants, so because of all the marriage fraud and refugee claims from Islamabad, the CIC is overwhelmed with applications. You really only have to blame your fellow countrymen, just like I do, for so much marriage fraud and refugee claims causing the processing times to skyrocket. That's why Pakistan and Vietnam (along with Syria, Iraq, Iran, Somalia) now are required to submit biometric data before applying for a student or visitor visa, because so many people from these countries just simply overstay their visas. It sucks because of the people in these countries causing legitimate applications to wait so long.
My wife is from Vietnam, and it sucks because of the long processing time, but the most we can do instead of signing a petition, just focus on making our application strong and eliminating red flags. Our application is 400 pics, lots and lots of proofs, 7 inches thick, and 10 pounds in weight. And I see lots of people from such countries getting PR in 6-12 months, far less than 30 months, because their application and relationship background were strong.
