ID.me verification delayed my NY unemployment payments for 3 weeks - anyone get it faster?

same thing happened 2 me last week, still waiting. id.me is the worst!!! 😡

How long have you been waiting so far? Did they give you any indication of when your payments might start again?

going on 2 weeks now. they just keep saying 'its in process' whatever that means

I went through this in February 2025. The manual review took exactly 18 days for me, which was actually faster than the 2-3 weeks they quoted. Make sure you continue certifying for benefits each week even though you're not getting paid - they'll release all the back payments once the review is complete. Also, double-check your message inbox on the unemployment portal daily as sometimes they'll request additional documentation but won't notify you by email or text.

Thanks for the tip about continuing to certify! I wasn't sure if I should keep doing that since nothing was happening. Did you get all your back payments in one lump sum or spread out?

I got all back payments in one lump sum, 2 days after the review was completed. And yes, definitely keep certifying! I've seen people miss out on thousands because they stopped certifying during these verification holds.

Mine took 4 weeks and i had to call like 50 times. The whole system is designed to make people give up and not get the benefits they deserve. The government just doesn't want to pay us what we're owed.

4 weeks?! im on week 3 right now and getting really nervous. did u have to do anything special to get them to finally release it?

I basically had to DEMAND to speak to a supervisor. The regular agents just kept reading from their script about 'waiting for the process' but when I finally got a supervisor they cleared it in 2 days. DON'T let them brush you off!!!

ID.me verification delays are unfortunately common right now with NY unemployment. The 2-3 week manual review timeframe is fairly accurate based on current processing volumes, but there are a few things you can do:\n\n1. Call the appeals department directly at (888) 209-8124 and select option 5, then 2, then 1. This sometimes connects you with agents who have more authority.\n\n2. Check if your NY.gov account shows any pending action items that might be holding up the process.\n\n3. If you have a true financial hardship (eviction notice, utility shutoff), request an expedited review when you call.\n\n4. Make sure your ID.me verification shows as 'complete' on their website, not just 'submitted'.\n\nThe good news is that all back payments will be processed once verification completes.

Thank you so much for this detailed info! I'll definitely try that appeals department number. My landlord just sent me a formal late rent notice yesterday, so maybe that will help get an expedited review. I did check and my ID.me status shows as 'complete' so at least that part seems okay.

After struggling with the same issue for weeks and not being able to reach anyone, I finally tried Claimyr (claimyr.com) and it was a game changer. They connected me to an actual NYSDOL agent in about 20 minutes when I had been trying for days on my own. The agent was able to expedite my ID.me review and I got paid 4 days later. They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE\n\nI was skeptical at first but desperate after 3 weeks without benefits. Definitely worth it compared to calling hundreds of times and getting nowhere.

is this legit? sounds 2 good 2 be true honestly

Yes, it's legitimate. It basically holds your place in the phone queue so you don't have to keep calling back. The unemployment office is still the one handling your claim - Claimyr just gets you through to them.

This sounds promising! Did you have to do anything special once you got through to the agent? Or did they just see your account was stuck in ID.me verification and fix it from there?

Once I got through, I explained my situation and that I'd completed ID.me weeks ago. The agent verified my identity, checked my account, and saw that my verification was complete but just sitting in a queue. She flagged it as urgent and moved it to immediate review. Definitely mention your financial hardship situation when you get through.

In my experience the timeframes they give are always longer than reality. They said 2-3 weeks for me too but it actually took 9 days from when I called. Did you speak with a tier 2 agent or just a regular claims specialist? That makes a difference.

I honestly have no idea if I was speaking to a tier 2 agent or not. How can you tell the difference? And is there a way to specifically ask for a tier 2 person?

Tier 2 agents will identify themselves as claims specialists or adjudicators. Regular agents just answer basic questions. You can specifically ask to be transferred to a tier 2 agent or claims specialist who can help with ID.me verification issues. Just be polite but firm that you need someone with authorization to expedite your claim.

I'm in the same situation right now!!! It's so frustrating because I did everything right and still got hit with this ID.me thing out of nowhere. I completed my verification 3 weeks ago and still nothing. Every time I call I get disconnected after waiting on hold for hours. How did you even get through to a person? I'm seriously about to lose my apartment over this delay and I've been applying for UI since January without any problems until now.

It took me over 40 calls over 3 days. I just kept trying different times of day until eventually I got through around 8:15am. Have you tried calling right when they open? That seemed to work better for me than trying midday.

If you're at risk of losing your apartment, make sure to request an expedited hardship review when you do reach someone. Bring this up immediately when connected to an agent. You may need to provide documentation of the hardship (like a late rent notice or eviction warning), but this can reduce the wait time significantly.

Thank you!! I have a late rent notice from my landlord that I can send them. I'll keep trying to call first thing in the morning. This is so stressful!

Just an update for everyone dealing with ID.me verification issues - I've been tracking processing times on another forum and it seems the average wait time after manual review was requested has dropped to about 12-15 days as of April 2025. NYSDOL apparently hired additional staff to handle the verification backlog. This is down from the 18-21 day average in February/March.

That's really good to know! Hopefully mine will be on the shorter end of that timeframe. I'll post an update here when something changes with my claim to help others gauge the current timing.

THE WHOLE ID.ME THING IS A SCAM!! They're just using it to delay payments and hope people give up. I had to threaten legal action before they finally processed mine. Know your rights!!

what kind of legal action did u threaten? might try that tbh

I mentioned filing a complaint with the NY Department of Labor Commissioner's office AND contacting my state representative. Suddenly they found a way to

While I understand the frustration, ID.me verification is a legitimate security measure implemented to prevent the widespread fraud that affected the unemployment system in previous years. The delays are unfortunate but the verification itself isn't a scam. It's standard procedure in most states now. That said, you absolutely should contact your state representative if you're experiencing excessive delays beyond the stated timeframes.

Maybe the verification itself isn't a scam but the process IS designed to be so frustrating that people give up. Why else would they make us wait WEEKS after successful verification? The money is OURS. We paid into the system!

UPDATE: I called the appeals number that someone suggested above, and after explaining my hardship situation (showed them my late rent notice), they expedited my review! The agent said I should see payment within 3-5 business days instead of 2-3 weeks. I'm cautiously optimistic. Will update again when/if the money actually hits my account.

that's great news! fingers crossed you get it soon! 🤞

Thanks! I'm not celebrating yet but at least there's some progress.

Please let us know if they actually come through! I'm going to try the same thing tomorrow morning with my late notice.

FINAL UPDATE: The payment finally came through this morning! All 3 weeks of back payments at once. Total time from ID.me verification to payment was 17 days (plus the week I spent trying to reach someone by phone). The expedited review definitely helped speed things up. For anyone else dealing with this - be persistent, keep certifying weekly, and definitely mention any financial hardship when you speak with an agent.

congrats! gives me hope mine will come thru soon!!

Thanks! Hang in there - it WILL get resolved eventually. Just keep calling until you reach someone who can help.

That's awesome! I'm still waiting but managed to get through to someone this morning who also promised to expedite my review. Did your payment status change on the website before the money arrived, or did it just show up in your account?

My payment status changed to \