Basically, as soon as bitcoins are sent, it is broadcast to the network and logged. The transaction will immediately appear on blockchain.info when you enter the receiving address. At this point, the transaction is confirmed and logged further until it reaches the receiving wallet here on SR after 6 to 7 of those confirmations. This happens even if there are delays here on SR, and you will see the transaction on blockchain long before you see the coins actually appear in your wallet. When SR is having delays, people who make deposits to their SR wallets will typically see the transaction on blockchain along with a large, large number of confirmations. They may not have the coins show up in their wallet, but they will be able to see the transaction on blockchain. The fact that there is no transaction showing up on blockchain for a deposit like this means that the transaction was never even initiated by Bitinstant in the first place. If Bitinstant had initiated the transfer, it would show up on blockchain even if it didn't show up in the OP's SR wallet. Regardless of the delays SR is experiencing, a transfer in that direction - from an external service like Bitinstant which is not related to SR, to a wallet on SR - will ALWAYS show on blockchain. They will probably need your order number with them, the BTC address you listed when you placed the order, the amount, the time, etc. May I ask how much you sent? Was it a single transaction, or more than one? Was it within their $500 limit per transaction? Had you placed any other orders with them within the 24 hours prior to this one? You should check out bitcointalk.org's forums - there are several threads there about Bitinstant problems and people who haven't received their bitcoins in weeks.