NY unemployment claim stuck in limbo for 3+ weeks - no approval letter or calls back

Unfortunately this is pretty typical these days with NYSDOL. The system is completely overwhelmed since they changed their processing software in January. My claim was stuck for almost 4 weeks before anything happened. What finally worked for me was using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual agent. They have a service that holds your place in the phone queue and calls you when an agent is available. Saved me hours of hold time. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE - totally worth it in my situation because once I actually talked to someone, they found that my claim had a simple verification flag that needed to be cleared. Fixed in 10 minutes once I got through.

lol welcome to the wonderful world of NY unemployment!! been there done that got the tshirt. twitter is useless btw they never respond to anyone

There's actually a technical issue going on with claims filed in the last 6 weeks. Your husband's claim is probably caught in what's called an "identity verification loop" in the new system. They implemented additional fraud measures in February 2025 that are causing a lot of legitimate claims to get stuck. Here's what I recommend: 1) Make sure he's still certifying weekly even though no payments are coming through 2) Send a secure message through the portal specifically asking for an "ID verification status check" 3) Call right when they open at 8:00 AM - that's when wait times are shortest 4) If you can get through, ask specifically about the "February ID verification backlog" The good news is that once it's resolved, he should get all backpay for the weeks that were pending. My brother-in-law went through this exact thing last month and eventually got all his payments at once.

The EXACT same thing happened to me!!! I filed on April 3 and didn't hear ANYTHING until April 29th! No letters, no emails, NOTHING on the website except "pending"!!! I was FREAKING OUT thinking I did something wrong. Then suddenly one day all the money appeared in my account with no warning. The system is COMPLETELY BROKEN. Don't even get me started on how they expect people to survive while they take their sweet time processing claims.

I work with an employment advocacy group, and unfortunately, we're seeing widespread delays like this. The NYSDOL implemented a new fraud detection system in February 2025 that's creating a huge backlog. Some specific advice that might help your situation: 1. Make sure your husband's NY.gov ID account email and phone are verified and up-to-date 2. Check if there's a "Documents Needed" section in his online account - sometimes they request identity verification docs but don't send notifications 3. Call the special Technical Support line at 888-209-8124, option 4, then option 2. This bypasses the main queue and can sometimes connect you faster 4. If your household income is below 300% of the federal poverty line, contact your local state representative's office - they have direct liaison contacts at NYSDOL The good news is that if approved, he'll receive all backpay from the date of initial filing. Keep certifying weekly no matter what!

Have u tried calling the Unemployment office from a different phone number? Sometimes they block numbers that call too many times in one day. Also try calling at exactly 7:58am, that's how I got through last month when my claim was stuck.

I went through this nightmare in March. After weeks of getting nowhere, I used that Claimyr service someone mentioned above and finally got through to a human. Turns out there was a simple mismatch between my address on file with my employer versus what I put on my application. Such a minor thing but it had completely stalled my claim for nearly a month! Once I talked to an actual person, they fixed it in minutes. Then all my backpay showed up three days later. The most frustrating part was that this tiny issue could have been resolved immediately if they had just sent me ANY kind of notification. The system seems designed to wear people down so they give up. DON'T GIVE UP!

btw make sure ur hubby keeps certifying every week even tho hes not getting paid yet!!! super important!!

Glad to hear you found the document request! That's almost certainly what's been holding things up. Once you upload those, you should see movement within 3-5 business days. Just to prepare you: the system often doesn't send a confirmation when they receive/approve the documents, so it might still look like they're pending on your end even after they've been processed internally. Keep certifying weekly and you should see the payments appear suddenly. One more tip: if you upload the documents today, call tomorrow morning and just ask them to confirm receipt. That sometimes speeds up the review process since it flags your account for attention.