My I140 application was filed in Nov. 2004.I485 was filed in January 2005 (concurrent filing). Finger Print done in Feb. I140 approved on March 4, 2005.
Brief Background: BS and MS from Peking University. Ph.D. from a US university. Two year postdoc in a renowned research institute. Four year working experience in a biopharmaceutical company, which went public last year. Five publications in peer-reviewed journals. All of them were mentioned in review articles. One paper was cited over seventy times while others were cited between 11 and 34 times. Six recommendation letters from US, Japan, and Hongkong. Among them one from a member of the Academy of Science (postdoctral mentor), one from a ACS local section chairman (no collaboration), one from a Hongkong professor (no collaboration), one from an American professor (no collaboration). All but one letters were drafted by me and sent for my reference letter writer for review. They didn't change a thing. My writen English was pretty good by that account.
I also heard that other cases were approved very quickly recently. Good luck to you guys!