I'm at day 12 of waiting for my NYS DOL claim approval and this thread is exactly what I needed to find! Filed after getting laid off from my office job and have been religiously doing my weekly certifications while stress-refreshing the claim status page multiple times a day. It's both comforting and anxiety-inducing to see the wide range of timelines here - from 2 weeks to 5 weeks. I really appreciate everyone sharing their real experiences rather than just the official "2-3 weeks" estimate. The tips about emergency assistance programs and the Claimyr service are incredibly valuable. @Oliver Becker your professional insight about this being normal timing really helps calm my nerves, and @Javier Gomez your success story with actually reaching someone gives me hope if I need to escalate. It's wild that we all have to become experts in navigating this system just to get the benefits we're entitled to, but at least we're figuring it out together. Sending good vibes to everyone still waiting - hopefully we'll all have approval stories to share soon!

I'm at day 20 of waiting for my NYS DOL claim approval and this thread has been such a blessing to find! Filed after being laid off from my healthcare support job and have been doing my weekly certifications while trying not to panic about my mounting bills. Reading everyone's experiences here - from the 2-week approvals to the 5-week waits - has really helped me understand that this frustrating limbo is unfortunately normal. The practical advice has been incredible too. I've already applied for emergency SNAP benefits thanks to @Ravi Patel's suggestion, and I'm keeping the Claimyr option in my back pocket if I hit the 3-week mark like @Javier Gomez recommended. @Oliver Becker, your professional reassurance about normal timing has been so helpful for my anxiety. It's ridiculous that we need a support group just to navigate getting unemployment benefits, but I'm so grateful this community exists. The back pay will hopefully make this stressful waiting period worth it eventually. Stay strong everyone - we've got this! 💪

Friendly reminder to everyone: screenshot your certification confirmation pages! Every time! Holiday delays are normal but system glitches happen too. Always keep proof you certified each week.

Thanks for the heads up! I'm relatively new to the system and was wondering why my payment seemed off schedule. It's frustrating that they don't send out any kind of notification about these delays - would save everyone a lot of panic. I've been checking my account obsessively all morning thinking something went wrong with my claim!

Just want to echo what others have said about being super thorough with your record-keeping! I've been on partial unemployment for about 3 months now while working at a coffee shop 15-20 hours a week. One tip that saved me a lot of headaches - I take a photo of my work schedule each week and keep all my pay stubs in a folder. The NYS Department of Labor can ask for documentation at any time, and having everything organized makes the weekly filing process so much smoother. Also, don't be discouraged if your first partial payment seems lower than expected - it took me a couple weeks to understand exactly how they calculate the deductions. The system actually works pretty well once you get the hang of it!

This thread has been super helpful! I'm in a similar boat - lost my full-time warehouse job and picked up part-time work at a grocery store. One thing I learned the hard way is to make sure you understand your work search requirements while on partial unemployment. The NYS Department of Labor still requires you to apply for jobs and be available for full-time work, even when you're working part-time. I almost got in trouble because I wasn't keeping track of my job search activities properly. Also, if anyone is struggling with the online system for filing weekly claims, I found it's way easier to use early in the morning or late at night when fewer people are online. The system gets super slow during peak hours and sometimes times out.

The system is SO confusing with multiple states! I worked in NY, moved to PA for 6 months, then came back to NY and got laid off. Still not sure if I filed correctly but my claim got approved eventually. Just be honest about all your work history and let them sort it out.

Just went through this exact situation last month! Filed with NYS Department of Labor even though I had worked in New Jersey for part of my base period. The key thing is to have all your employment information ready when you file - exact dates, employer addresses, and your Social Security number that was used for each job. NYS will handle the interstate wage request automatically, but it can add a few extra weeks to the processing time. Don't stress too much about it, the system is designed to handle multi-state work history. Make sure to keep checking your online account for any requests for additional documentation.

This exact same thing happened to my sister last month! She was stuck in the ID.me loop for almost 2 weeks. What finally worked for her was using a completely different email address to create a new ID.me account, then linking that to her unemployment claim. Apparently sometimes the original ID.me account gets "stuck" in their system and won't sync properly. She had to call unemployment to update her email address first, then redo the verification with the new account. Pain in the butt but it worked! Also seconding what others said about waiting 24-48 hours between attempts - their system definitely has processing delays.

Just wanted to add my experience to help others - I dealt with this EXACT same issue back in January. The ID.me verification loop is absolutely maddening! What finally worked for me was a combination of several suggestions mentioned here: I waited 48 hours after my initial ID.me verification, completely cleared my browser cache, then tried on my phone using Safari instead of the Chrome browser I'd been using. It finally let me through without asking for verification again. If that hadn't worked, I was planning to use one of those callback services people mentioned since the phone lines are basically impossible. The whole NY unemployment system feels like it was designed in 2005 and never updated. Hang in there - once you get past this verification nightmare, the rest of the process is actually much smoother!