I had that same type of problem, so I switched to E-trade. It was a bummer when I did, but now very happy to have done so.
When I submit an ACH I can purchase immediately. When I do a sell, I can buy but cannot sell again for 3 days or I get restricted for 90 days. You can transfer your account to E-trade from other broker online.
Peeps are also saying Zecco is good for 4.50 trades where E-trade is 9.99 With Zecco you need to fax or mail information to change brokers and it takes longer.
There are a couple of options you can check out, but yes, it will mess you up while all is being done.