H1B petition still pending in Oct 2015

TCS filed H1B petition for me this year Apr 2015,

My case for H1B was picked in 2015 may lottery and got the receipt. However there has been no status change since then.

I keep checking the status with my employer , they have been telling me that its as pending with UCIS since may. I was told that no RFE has been issue.

Can a H1B petition stay in pending status post Oct 1? Is there a chance of it getting approved?

All my colleagues and friends petitions have been approved.

Have there been any know cases where it is stretched for such long time?

Furthermore they are saying

Dear Associate, We did not receive petition number, could you please wait and cooperate.

When do we usually receive petition number, only after approval or after lottery?

Yes…it can. There are chances of getting approval at the same time chances for RFE too…but less

Thank you… I hope it wont stretch beyond October!

There is NO SLA for regular processing. Just need to wait. You may upgrade to premium processimg for faster turn around

Well It go approved at last!

But it says Sep 13 over , I was only intimated today. Does my employer receive it on the same day or UCIS delayed it?