thegreatpretender, it sounds as if you already know that the ads must be reviewed and approved before being shown on sites other than Google. There is not a fixed time-to-review, however, since timing is highly dependent on volume of new and edited ads being submitted.
If you're concerned that your ads are not showing in the content network, I'd suggest contacting AdWords support, and asking them to take a look. They should be able to tell you what's up in short order.
AWA
