hi, i took the test and submitted the manditory images for initial review almost 2 weeks ago to istock.  just how long does this process take? i havent received any confirmation email and it says my images are still out for review and i'll be notified. jeeeeeeeeeeeeez!

Two weeks was about right when I started. It could be much longer now. The 'normal' queue is now the longest I've ever seen it, so I suspect they're short of inspectors at the moment, or they're having a go-slow, or goodness knows what.
You'll just have to be patient, I'm afraid. Some queue inspections are taking a fortnight.

Shady is right.  I still have six images pending from March 6th and my batch uploaded last Saturday is now in its second week in the queue.  I have site mails into them and still no answers.  I bet they are simply short handed.  Seems like lots of inspectors have been calling it quite of late.  Be patient.  You'll get there.