UPDATE: You guys were right! Just checked my account and the money hit my Money Network card this morning! Just wanted to update in case anyone else has the same confusion I did. Took exactly 14 days from initial filing to payment. Thanks for all the help and explaining the different statuses!

Congratulations Carmen! This is such a relief to see a success story. Your timeline of 14 days from filing to payment is really helpful for others to know what to expect. I'm currently in a similar situation - filed 8 days ago and seeing "in review" with "in progress" for payments. Your update gives me hope that I'm on the right track. Thanks for coming back to share the good news with everyone!

I'm in a similar boat with my seasonal landscaping job ending next week! Reading through everyone's advice here, it sounds like the consensus is definitely to wait until after your last day of work to reopen. I'm planning to follow the same approach - reopen on Monday after my final day, then file my first weekly certification the following Sunday. One question though - for those who've done this multiple times, do you usually get your first payment pretty quickly after reopening an existing claim, or does it still take a few weeks like when you first applied? Just trying to budget accordingly for the gap period.

Been through this exact scenario multiple times with my seasonal HVAC work! You're absolutely right to wait until Monday to reopen. I learned the hard way that reopening while you still have work hours that week can trigger system flags. Here's what works for me: finish your last day Thursday, reopen Monday morning, then file your first weekly certification that Sunday for the week of March 17-23. Make sure you have your final pay stub details ready when reopening - they'll want your last work date and final gross earnings. Also pro tip: take a screenshot of your dashboard right after reopening to confirm there are no open issues before you file your first weekly cert. The seasonal reopening process is usually pretty smooth once you get the timing right!

I'm new to this community but unfortunately joining for the same reason as so many others here - my NDNH investigation just appeared on my dashboard two days ago and I'm already feeling overwhelmed after reading through everyone's experiences. Like most people in this thread, I had multi-state employment (worked a contract position in Maryland for 4 months before my PA job ended in January) and was completely honest about it when filing my claim. @Connor Gallagher - thank you so much for explaining what NDNH actually stands for and providing those detailed steps for the expedited determination request! I had no idea what any of this meant when it first showed up. I'm definitely submitting that request tomorrow morning since I clearly can't afford to wait 4+ months like some people have been. What really strikes me is how many honest, rule-following applicants are getting stuck in this same nightmare. It's infuriating that being transparent about our work history seems to be exactly what triggers these endless delays. The financial anxiety is already starting even though I'm only 48 hours into this mess. To everyone who's been waiting since last year - I'm really hoping you all get resolution soon and receive those back payments you're owed. Thank you for sharing your stories - it helps so much to know we're not alone in dealing with this clearly broken system, even though none of us should have to go through this!

I'm new to this community but unfortunately here for the same reason as everyone else - dealing with an NDNH investigation that just appeared on my dashboard yesterday! Reading through all these experiences has been both incredibly helpful and absolutely terrifying. Like so many others here, I worked across state lines (had a 3-month position in New Jersey before my current PA job ended) and was completely transparent about everything on my application. @Connor Gallagher - thank you SO much for explaining what NDNH actually means and providing those detailed steps for the expedited determination request! I had absolutely no clue what any of this meant when it first showed up on my dashboard. I'm definitely submitting that request first thing tomorrow since I clearly cannot afford to wait 4+ months like some people have been. What's really striking me is how many honest, rule-following people are getting stuck in this exact same nightmare. It's so frustrating that being truthful about our work history seems to be precisely what's triggering these endless delays! The financial anxiety is already setting in even though I'm barely 24 hours into this process. To everyone who's been waiting since last year - I'm really hoping you all get your resolutions and back payments soon. This system is clearly broken when people are losing housing and having utilities shut off while waiting for benefits they legally earned. Thank you all for sharing your stories - it really helps to know we're not alone in this mess, even though none of us should have to go through it!

Glad to hear your roommate got it resolved! For anyone else reading this thread with similar issues, here's a quick summary of options for payment/card problems with PA unemployment: 1. Call Money Network directly: 888-233-5916 for card issues 2. Use Claimyr to reach PA UC agents for claim/payment problems 3. Visit a local CareerLink office in person 4. Contact your state representative's office 5. Request address verification if payments are returned Also, it's good practice to set up direct deposit if possible through the PA UC portal once you have access, as it's generally more reliable than the card system.

As someone who works in social services, I want to add that if anyone is facing eviction or urgent financial hardship while waiting for UC payments, there are emergency assistance programs that can help bridge the gap. Many counties in PA have emergency rental assistance funds, and 211 (dial 2-1-1) can connect you to local resources for food banks, utility assistance, and emergency housing support. Don't wait until you're actually evicted - these programs often have waiting lists, so apply early. Also, document all your UC communication attempts as this proof of delayed benefits can sometimes help expedite emergency aid applications.

This entire thread has been a masterclass in navigating 401k withdrawals while on UC! I'm in a very similar situation - been on PA UC for about 6 weeks and my HVAC system just died (perfect timing, right?). Need about $12k for replacement and was panicking about how it might affect my benefits. After reading everyone's experiences, I'm convinced the 401k loan is the way to go. The tax implications alone make the withdrawal option pretty brutal - between the 10% early withdrawal penalty and regular income taxes, you're easily looking at losing 30-40% of what you take out. @Sophie Hernandez thanks for the tip about Vanguard's financial hardship category - my 401k is also with them so I'll definitely ask about that when I call Monday. @Ava Kim your proactive documentation approach is genius, and @Jessica Suarez your info about the manual payment setup process is super helpful. One thing I'm curious about - has anyone dealt with 401k loans from smaller employers or regional plan administrators? I'm wondering if the flexibility around unemployment situations varies significantly between the big companies like Fidelity/Vanguard versus smaller providers. This community is amazing - probably just saved me thousands in penalties and weeks of UC headaches!

Just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this exact situation about 8 months ago! I was on PA UC and needed about $15k for emergency dental work that couldn't wait. After doing tons of research (wish I had found this thread back then!), I ended up doing a 401k loan and it was absolutely the right choice. A few things I learned that might help others: 1. My plan administrator (TIAA) had a "personal financial hardship" loan category specifically for situations like unemployment - the interest rate was actually lower than their standard loan rate 2. They let me defer the first payment for 60 days, which gave me breathing room to figure out the manual payment setup 3. When I eventually found work 4 months later, transitioning back to payroll deduction was seamless The peace of mind was worth everything - no tax penalties, no UC complications, and I was essentially paying myself back. Plus having my health sorted out definitely helped during job interviews! One tip: if you're considering this route, ask your plan administrator about any "grace period" options for the first payment. Some plans offer this for hardship loans and it can really help with cash flow while you're getting everything set up.