Great to hear you got approved Leila! From my recent experience with NYS DOL, once approved with direct deposit you should see payment within 2-4 business days. They definitely pay retroactively for all eligible weeks during adjudication - mine came as one larger deposit for the back weeks, then regular weekly payments after that. Pro tip: the payment status in your my.ny.gov account updates before the money actually hits your bank, so you'll get a heads up. Since you have rent due next week, there's a good chance you'll get that retroactive payment in time. Keep filing those weekly certs and hang in there - the hardest part is behind you!

Congratulations on getting approved, Leila! That's such a huge relief after going through adjudication. From what I've seen with NYS DOL, once you're approved with direct deposit, you typically get your first payment within 2-4 business days. The great news is they absolutely do pay retroactively for all the weeks you were waiting during adjudication - as long as you kept filing your weekly claims (which sounds like you did). Usually that retroactive amount comes as one bigger lump sum payment, then your regular weekly benefits start flowing normally. I'd keep checking your my.ny.gov account because the payment status updates there first before it actually hits your bank account. Given your timeline, you might actually get that payment before rent is due! The waiting is the worst part but you're through it now.

My friend just dealt with this. File new claim, but EXPECT problems. Her new claim took 7 weeks to process and she had to call multiple times. The system is a mess. Budget accordingly if you can.

Just wanted to share my recent experience since I literally went through this exact situation 3 months ago. Filed my new claim when I had 3 effective days left (after reading advice similar to what's here), and it took about 3 weeks total to get my first payment on the new claim. The key things that helped me: - Filed the new claim early (don't wait until you hit zero days) - Never stopped doing my weekly certifications - Had all my employer info organized beforehand - Got lucky and qualified based on work I did before my original claim started One thing that caught me off guard - my weekly benefit amount dropped from $420 to $340 on the new claim because they use a different calculation period. So even if you qualify, your payment might change. Also seconding what others said about claimyr - used them after 2 weeks of getting nowhere on my own and finally got connected to someone who could actually help. Worth the cost to avoid the endless hold music. Good luck OP, the system sucks but you'll get through it!

Just checking back - did you ever get through to them? I'm curious if any of these suggestions worked for you.

Congrats! Always nice to hear when someone actually gets through the system successfully lol. Fingers crossed your payment comes through quickly!

Definitely bring more than you think you need. I brought everything - tax returns, bank statements, old pay stubs, lease agreement to prove residency, utility bills. Better to have too much than not enough. The whole verification process is designed to make you prove every single detail of your claim.

I just went through this same process last month! In addition to what others mentioned, I'd recommend bringing a printed copy of your online unemployment claim confirmation if you have one, plus any correspondence you've received from the Department of Labor. They asked me for proof of my job search activities too, so if you've been keeping track of where you've applied, bring that list. Also, get there early - my appointment was at 2pm but I showed up at 1:30 and they were running behind schedule. The whole thing took about 45 minutes once I actually got called in.

Just wanted to add that even though you can file up to 52 weeks later, your weekly benefit amount is calculated based on wages from a specific base period, so waiting too long might affect which quarters are used in your calculation. Another reason to file promptly.

Just to clarify something that might be confusing - while there's no hard deadline like 30 or 90 days, you definitely want to file within your first week of unemployment if possible. I learned this the hard way when I got laid off from my warehouse job last year. The key thing to remember is that unemployment benefits are meant to replace lost wages, so every week you delay filing is potentially a week of benefits you're missing out on. The system is designed for you to file immediately after job loss, not weeks or months later. Don't overthink it - you can always provide additional documentation after you file your initial claim.