About how long does it take to receive an approval on a submitted item for copyright?

Answer 1

There is no "approval" - copyright is created automatically by operation of law at the time the work gets fixed in a medium from which it can be retrieved. The registration process is somewhat different: in the US, see http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#cr

Answer 2

to further expand on this, the copyright office merely receives your submission and files it. it makes NO judgement as to the validity of your copyright claims. One of the first issues to be determined in a legal defense of infringement is the whether the claim of the author is valid. having a registration is an evidence of that claims are made but not the proof of them.