Bigpako,
I would like you to take the attitude that everybody is on his/her own as far as GC is concerned. Even though I never supported illegal act, my point is that you should not feel like someone is cheating you by the way they are approaching their own GC process. NOBODY is cutting the LINE. The INS has everyone's priority date when we apply for GC. The priority date, country of eligibility, and individual circumstances dictate the time it takes for someone to get GC. Your examples of some people spending between 8 - 10 years in the GC process is rather unfortunate but those people may not have told you the whole truth regarding their peculiar situation. I read in this forum of someone from India who received the GC within 3 months during this period of retrogression, while majority average 2 - 3 years. Find out the details from those people and you will see what i'm saying. They may also have had lousy attorney or not presented their documentation in the manner INS prescribed. Remember, EVERYONE GOES BY THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCES and don't equate that to your own GC delay. Looks like you are jelous that someone who is cheating may get his GC before yours.
Please accept the humanistic SURVIVAL INSTINCT in your other friend as the driving force behing his claim of 25 years in the U.S.
Remember the title of this message, "LIVE and LEt LIVE".