The reason FINRA asks for it no "later" that 10 days before the effective date is because they normally/usually turn it around inside that time period.
However there is no commitment to that timeframe...it is just the "usual". Yes penny tickers can and do take longer sometimes...but that not the norm either.
All that likely means here is FINRA is asking some questions. And we know of one hole in the process and that is the lack of a state name change.