Thanks Neerman for the suggestion. I have contacted my advisor, and he is doing everything he can to try to help. based on his (and my own)  research on similar cases, he says that administrative processing cases are out of the hands of the consulate and thus, contacting the embassy is not helpful at all. He has now contacted the senator of my state and is having her contact the DOS to at least find out where the case is stuck!
I understand that it might take longer if it is for a petition-based visa like H1, L1 etc as the cases can be referred to USCIS, but I don't understand any reason why a student visa can take this long if everybody was doing their job as they should. I just fear that my case is lying somewhere unnoticed or completely neglected!

@Raj Chaulagain : which visa is your family waiting for and how long has it been?