NY State Refund Stuck in “Initial Approval Stage” – Anyone else in this boat?

Hey everyone, I’m trying to help my mom figure out what’s going on with her NY State tax refund.
She e-filed on April 7th and requested direct deposit. When we check the "Where’s My Refund" portal on the NY Department of Taxation and Finance website, it gives this specific message:
"Your return finished processing and is in the initial approval stage. Your refund status will update automatically when we assign a refund issue date."
It’s been over a month since she filed. Has anyone else seen this specific "initial approval stage" message recently? How long did it take for yours to move to an actual issue date?
Any insight would be great, thanks!