Processing times vary by petition type, project and country of chargeability, and published times change. The family should check current official processing information and visa availability rather than plan around a fixed duration.
Plan the family's life around the uncertainty
Because the timeline is long and variable, the planning that matters is not an estimate but a set of decisions that hold whatever the timing turns out to be. Decide what the family does if the process runs longer than expected: whether the children continue in Canadian schools, whether anyone needs an interim nonimmigrant status for study or work, and what happens to the farm business in the meantime. Understand that a grant of conditional permanent residence starts a two-year period ending in Form I-829 to remove conditions, which requires evidence that the investment was sustained and the jobs created, so the file does not close when the family arrives.
Keep the source-of-funds records for the whole period, because they may be needed again. Hypothetical example: a solar-component manufacturer expects ten hires but will not complete its facility until after the investor's filing. The business plan must explain when and how qualifying positions will arise, then later records must support that plan.
Make a calendar for capital deployment, construction, hiring, petition stages, and the conditional-residence removal filing. A first review should identify dependencies outside the investor's control. The common error is treating initial petition approval as the end of the process, while the job and capital requirements remain central through the conditional period.