Wanted to share a data point and thank the community for all the knowledge on this thread.
May 22 - Applied under economics
June 17 - Submitted Passport for Review
June 24 - Picked up passport and status changed to IC Card in Process
June 29th - Picked up Gold Card
As background, I have a PhD in Economics (submitted diploma), with 30+ peer-reviewed papers (submitted CV), was visiting faculty at a university in Taiwan a few years back, and run an economic consultancy with offices in US, Taiwan, and Shanghai. For proof of income, I submitted the a 1040 and Schedule K-1 (because it’s an LLC in the US).