Do I need to do ID.me before applying for NY unemployment benefits?

Yeah, you need to do ID.me first. It's part of their security process to prevent fraud. It's pretty straightforward - upload your ID, take a selfie video, answer some questions about your credit history. Takes maybe 20 minutes if everything goes smooth. Do that first, then you can create your actual unemployment account.

I was in the same situation last month trying to apply. After days of trying to reach someone on the phone with no luck, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual person at unemployment. They held my place in line and called me when they reached an agent. Talking to an agent got my $ unlocked so fast, totally worth checking out: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

The order depends on how you're applying. If you're doing everything online, then yes, you'll need to do ID.me first. But if you call in to file (good luck with that lol), sometimes they can start your claim and then you do ID.me afterwards. The system is a mess and different people get different instructions.

The whole ID.me process is GARBAGE. It took me 6 attempts because their facial recognition software kept failing. Then I had to do a video call with a "trusted referee" which had a 5 HOUR wait time. 😡 But yeah, unfortunately you have to do it first before you can access your benefits.

I went through the whole process in february. Here's the exact order: 1. Create a NY.gov ID account 2. Complete ID.me verification (have your drivers license/state ID and SSN ready) 3. After ID.me verification is successful, you can access the unemployment application 4. Complete the application (takes about 30-45 minutes) 5. Submit weekly certifications after your claim is approved The ID.me part is definitely required before you can fully access the system. It's annoying but they implemented it to stop all the fraud happening during the pandemic. One tip: if the automated ID.me verification fails, don't panic - you'll just need to do a video call with a person to verify. Have all your documents handy. If you run into issues, getting someone on the phone is nearly impossible through normal channels. I used claimyr.com after 3 days of failed calling attempts. They connected me to an agent who fixed my issue in minutes. Several people in this sub have had success with them too. Good luck! The process is frustrating but you'll get through it.

Anyone else think its ridiculous we have to go through a third party identity verification company just to access our state benefits that we already paid into? 🤔 The whole NY unemployment system is a joke.

I skipped the ID.me part initially and it came back to bite me later. Got stuck in pending for 6 weeks because of it. Definitely do it upfront.

Quick tip: if ID.me keeps failing the facial recognition, try using a different device. My laptop camera didn't work but my phone went through right away.

Unrelated but make sure you answer all their questions consistently. I got flagged for an interview because I accidentally put different dates on two parts of the application. Took 4 extra weeks to resolve. The system looks for any excuse to delay benefits.

Check out this official page from NYSDOL that explains the order of steps: https://dol.ny.gov/unemployment/file-your-first-claim-benefits - it specifically mentions ID.me as a required first step

make sure u have a good internet connection for the ID.me part. it kept timing out on me cause my wifi was acting up. wasted like 2 hours of my life on that garbage

After struggling with ID.me for days (kept getting errors about my documents), I finally got through by using the video call option with a live representative. Waited about 2 hours but at least it worked. If the automated system gives you problems, definitely use the video call option.

I didn't realize this would be so complicated 😫 Just lost my job and the last thing I need is tech problems. Ugh, NY unemployment why u gotta be so difficult