Hello @darkshinobi my experience was 3 days. I found that to be a bit of a benefit for me anyway. You can read my Introduction @vickiebarker that explains more but basically when I first signed up like most everyone I wanted to get started right away. What I found however is that taking that lag time waiting for authorization it gave me time to watch more videos, read more posts and to familiarize myself before actually taking the big plunge.

Encourage your new invitees to do the same. I feel I got off to a much better start than if I'd jumped in without testing the waters a bit. Hope that helps. I guess in my experience "Good things come to those who wait" Steem on my friend, steem on!