How long does it take to get approved for unemployment benefits in NY?
I submitted my initial claim through the my.ny.gov portal about 10 days ago and I'm starting to get worried. My claim status still shows 'under review' and I haven't heard anything back from NYS Department of Labor yet. I lost my job at a manufacturing company in Rochester due to downsizing and I really need these benefits to start coming in soon. Does anyone know the typical timeframe for getting approved? I've been doing my weekly claims but nothing is being paid out yet.
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Maria Gonzalez
The standard processing time for initial UI claims is typically 2-3 weeks from when you file, but it can take longer if your claim requires adjudication. Since you mentioned downsizing, that's usually straightforward and shouldn't cause delays. Make sure you keep filing your weekly claims even while waiting for approval - they'll backdate your payments once everything is processed.
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Elijah Brown
•Thanks, that's reassuring. I was worried I did something wrong on the application. Should I be concerned that it's been 10 days already?
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Natalie Chen
honestly the whole system is a mess right now, took me almost 6 weeks to get my first payment and that was for a simple layoff too. keep calling them but good luck getting through
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Santiago Martinez
If you're getting frustrated trying to reach someone at NYS Department of Labor by phone, I recently used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. It was really helpful for checking on my claim status when I couldn't get through the regular way.
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Samantha Johnson
•Is that legit? I've been trying to call for days and keep getting disconnected after waiting on hold forever.
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Santiago Martinez
•Yeah it worked for me. I was skeptical at first but it actually connected me to a real NYS Department of Labor representative who could see my account and explain what was holding things up.
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Nick Kravitz
Mine took exactly 18 days from filing to first payment. The key is to keep doing your weekly claims religiously - even if nothing is showing up in your account yet. Once they approve you, all those weeks get paid retroactively as long as you filed them.
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Hannah White
ugh this is making me nervous, I just filed yesterday and was hoping it would be faster... do they send you any kind of confirmation email or anything when it's approved??
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Maria Gonzalez
•You'll get notifications through your my.ny.gov account and usually an email as well. The status will change from 'under review' to showing your weekly benefit amount once it's processed.
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Rajiv Kumar
@Elijah Brown - 10 days is still within the normal range, so try not to worry too much! I went through this same process last year after a plant closure in Buffalo. What really helped me was logging into my.ny.gov every few days to check for any messages or document requests they might have sent. Sometimes they need additional verification and if you miss those requests it can delay everything. Also make sure your contact info is up to date in case they need to reach you by phone. Keep filing those weekly claims like you're doing - that's super important for getting your full backpay once approved.
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Sofia Gutierrez
•@Rajiv Kumar That s'really helpful advice about checking for messages! I didn t'realize they might send document requests through the portal. I ve'been so focused on just checking the claim status that I haven t'looked at the messages section. Going to log in right now and make sure I didn t'miss anything. Thanks for sharing your experience with the Buffalo plant closure - it s'reassuring to hear from someone who went through something similar.
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Jasmine Hernandez
@Elijah Brown hang in there! I'm currently going through the same thing - filed my claim 12 days ago after getting laid off from my job in Syracuse and still showing "under review" too. From what I've read on the NYS DOL website, they're dealing with higher than normal claim volumes right now which is causing some delays. One thing that helped ease my anxiety was calling the automated phone line (1-888-209-8124) which at least confirmed my claim was in the system and being processed. Also seconding what others said about keeping up with those weekly certifications - I set a phone reminder every Sunday so I don't forget. We'll get through this!
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Maya Lewis
•@Jasmine Hernandez Thanks for mentioning that automated phone line! I had no idea that existed. Just tried calling 1-888-209-8124 and it was actually really helpful - confirmed my claim is in the system and gave me my effective date. It s'such a relief to at least know everything is moving forward even if slowly. Hope we both hear back soon! The waiting is definitely the worst part of this whole process.
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