Claim suddenly changed to 'invalid' after 9 weeks of waiting - what now?

This happened to me back in January. 'Invalid' usually means ESD determined you don't qualify for regular unemployment benefits for some reason - could be insufficient work hours, earnings below the minimum threshold, or they're questioning if you were truly laid off vs quit. You need to call them ASAP to find out exactly why before you decide what to do next.

Check your correspondence tab in eServices, not just your inbox. Often they send determination letters there that don't show up as messages. Also look closely at your claim details - there might be some clue about what disqualified you. Sometimes it's something small like answering a question wrong on your application or weekly claim.

invalid doesnt always mean ur not eligible. sometimes its a system error or they need more info from u. happened to my brother and turned out they just needed to verify his identity again and never told him. whole thing got fixed in a day once he finally talked to someone

I used to work with unemployment claims, and 'invalid' status typically means one of three things: 1. You don't meet the monetary requirements (not enough reported wages in your base year) 2. There's an issue with your identity verification 3. There's a jurisdictional issue (like you worked in multiple states) Check your monetary determination letter - it would show your reported wages. If those look wrong or missing, you'll need to provide proof of employment. And unfortunately, you do need to speak with an agent to resolve this. Keep trying different times of day to call.

That could absolutely be the issue. If you worked in Oregon within your base year (typically the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you filed), you might need to file a combined wage claim. This requires coordination between states, which can cause delays and confusion. Washington would still be your filing state if that's where you last worked, but they need to get wage information from Oregon.

after reading all this im pretty sure u need to do a combined wage claim. i went thru similar thing moving from idaho. the ESD website is TERRIBLE at explaining this!!! good luck getting thru to someone tho, i spent 3 weeks trying to call everyday morning and afternoon and NOTHING 😡

If you need to actually reach someone at ESD, I'd recommend trying Claimyr (claimyr.com). I was in a similar situation with my claim stuck in limbo for weeks, and I was ready to give up after trying to call hundreds of times. A friend recommended this service, and they were able to get me through to an ESD agent in less than an hour. They have a video demo that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. It was honestly a game changer for getting my combined wage claim issue resolved.

Yes, once I got through to an actual claims specialist, they were able to see exactly what was wrong with my claim. In my case, they needed additional documentation that I never knew about because the notification got lost somewhere. The agent was able to make notes on my account and told me exactly what to upload. Within a week after that call, my claim went from 'invalid' to 'processing' to 'paid.

BEWARE of any service charging you money to help with unemployment!!! The ESD hotline is free - you just gotta be persistent and keep calling. I always had better luck calling right when they open at 8am. Try that before spending money on some third party.

UPDATE: I finally got through to ESD using the Claimyr service (thanks for that recommendation). Turns out it WAS a combined wage issue! My Oregon wages weren't showing up in their system because I answered a question wrong on my initial application. The agent was able to fix it right there on the phone and said my claim should update in 3-5 business days and switch back to processing. She also said I'll still get all my back weeks once it's approved. Such a relief!

Wow, what a journey! This thread is super helpful for anyone dealing with interstate claims. I'm actually in a similar boat - filed 6 weeks ago after moving from California to Washington and my claim is still "pending" with no updates. Reading through all this makes me think I might have the same combined wage issue. Did the ESD agent mention how common this problem is? It seems like their system should automatically flag when someone has worked in multiple states instead of just marking claims as invalid with zero explanation.