I just talked to one of the representatives and she said they were now starting to open requests from October 22nd

(Mine got there a few days after that, so she couldn't find me in the system yet but to call back next Friday.) She also said that they are now finalizing the requests that arrived at the end of September.

She was so very apologetic (not her fault, but very nice and polite about it.)
I thought I'd share this information, hoping to give other potential worriers some peace of mind