It seems to me that a communication along the lines of "we are awaiting lab result confirmations" or "we are finalizing the sale of" or "whatever is causing the holdup to the NR" and "we should know by" should be forthcoming. Having secretaries saying "it's in the mail" is frustrating to say the least. Even if they say "we do not know when the NR will come" would be better than just not saying anything.