I'm new to this community and this thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm actually dealing with a very similar situation right now - my waiting week was processed about 5 days ago but I haven't received any payments yet. After reading through everyone's experiences, I'm realizing this might be more common than I initially thought. What really stands out to me is how many people have experienced this exact same pattern - waiting week processes fine, then nothing happens while some backend issue creates a hold that we're never told about. It's so frustrating that the system doesn't communicate what's actually wrong! Christian's success story through Claimyr is really encouraging, and I appreciate everyone sharing all these practical solutions. I'm going to start with the 8am calling strategy since multiple people have confirmed that works best, but it's good to know about the backup options like Claimyr and contacting assembly members if I can't get through. The biggest takeaway for me is definitely continuing to certify weekly no matter what - knowing that I'll get backpay once this gets resolved makes the waiting less stressful. Thanks to everyone for sharing your real experiences and solutions. This community is already proving way more helpful than the official NYSDOL resources!

This thread has been such a goldmine of information! I'm currently dealing with a similar delay - my waiting week processed about a week ago and I'm already getting nervous about the lack of payments. Reading through everyone's experiences really shows how systematic these communication failures are at NYSDOL. What's most helpful is seeing the clear pattern: waiting week processes fine, then mysterious backend holds happen without any notification. Christian's resolution through Claimyr is really encouraging, especially that it only took minutes once an agent actually looked at the issue. I'm going to be proactive and start with the 8am calling strategy tomorrow since multiple people have confirmed that timing works best. If that doesn't pan out after a few attempts, I'll definitely look into Claimyr or reach out to my assembly member. The key takeaway about continuing weekly certification is crucial - knowing I'll get all the backpay once this gets sorted out makes the whole situation much less stressful. Thanks to everyone for creating such a supportive community and sharing real solutions that actually work. This is already more helpful than anything I've found through official NYSDOL channels!

your supposed to set up direct deposit as soon as u get approved for benefits bro! nobody should be using those trash KeyBank cards in 2023. too late now but for the future: login to ur account > payment method > direct deposit

I feel your pain! I had the exact same issue 3 weeks ago - card suddenly stopped working and I was stuck in automated hell. What finally worked for me was calling 866-295-2955 and when it asks for your card number, just stay silent. Don't press anything, don't speak. After about 45 seconds it will say "I'm having trouble hearing you, let me transfer you to an agent." Boom - straight to a real person. The wait was still about 25 minutes but at least I knew I was in the queue. Turns out they had flagged my card because I used it at two different grocery stores in the same day 🤦‍♀️ Rep fixed it in 5 minutes once I got through. Also definitely look into switching to direct deposit ASAP - I made the change right after that nightmare and it's been smooth sailing since.

I use Santander Bank and my NYS unemployment deposits typically show up around 5-6 AM on Tuesdays - it's been really consistent for the 3 months I've been collecting. Since your claim shows processed, you're definitely good to go! I totally get the rent anxiety though, I've been there. One thing that really helped me was calling Santander's customer service line around 2 AM Tuesday morning - they could see the pending ACH deposit from NYS Department of Labor even though it hadn't posted to my account yet. That way I knew for sure it was coming and could stop the obsessive checking. Also, if you haven't already, definitely talk to your landlord today about the Tuesday deposit timing - mine was totally understanding and let me pay Wednesday morning instead. The first month is definitely the worst for anxiety but you'll get used to the rhythm. NYS is actually pretty reliable once you're in their system!

I've been getting NYS unemployment for about 6 weeks now with First Republic (now Chase) and mine hits around 4-5 AM every Tuesday morning without fail. Since your claim shows processed, you're absolutely getting that money! I know the rent stress is real - I've literally set alarms for 5 AM just to check my account. One thing that helped was enabling push notifications for deposits and also checking if your bank has a "scheduled deposits" or "pending ACH" section in their app - you might be able to see it queued up even before it officially posts. Also, don't underestimate talking to your landlord today - mine was super understanding when I explained unemployment comes Tuesday mornings. NYS Department of Labor is actually really consistent with their Tuesday timing once you're established in the system. The waiting is brutal but you're almost there!

I can relate to this anxiety so much! When I first started collecting unemployment benefits, I had similar concerns about my savings account. What helped me was actually calling the NYS DOL directly (though it took forever to get through) and asking this exact question. The representative explained that unemployment benefits are designed to replace lost wages from employment - they're not means-tested based on your assets or savings. As long as you're honestly reporting any work you do (or don't do) on your weekly certifications, your pre-existing savings won't affect your eligibility. The important thing is being truthful about your work status and any income you earn while collecting benefits. Don't let the worry consume you - you're doing everything right by filing your weekly claims properly!

I completely understand your anxiety about this - I went through the exact same worry when I first started collecting! I had about $4,000 in savings from before I lost my job and was terrified they'd think I was somehow cheating the system. But after doing some research and talking to others who've been through this, I learned that unemployment is specifically about replacing lost wages, not about your financial assets. NYS DOL focuses on whether you're working and earning income while collecting, not on money you already had saved up. Your emergency fund and final paycheck money are completely legitimate and won't impact your benefits at all. Just keep filing those weekly claims honestly (sounds like you're already doing great with that) and try not to stress about the savings - you earned that money before unemployment and it's yours to have! The program is designed to help people who lost their jobs through no fault of their own, which sounds exactly like your situation.

I'm going through the exact same nightmare right now! Been trying to set up direct deposit for over a month and the system keeps rejecting my routing number even though I've used this same account for everything else including my stimulus payments and tax refunds. What's really frustrating is that I can see other people in the comments mentioning Claimyr - I actually tried them last week and they were able to get me connected to a real person at NYSDOL within about an hour. The agent told me there was some kind of "system flag" on accounts that had previous unemployment claims, and she had to manually override something on their end. My direct deposit finally went through 3 days later! It cost like $20 to use Claimyr but honestly it was worth every penny after wasting weeks trying to fix this myself. For anyone still struggling with this, I'd definitely recommend giving them a shot - their service actually works unlike the broken phone system.

I'm dealing with the exact same issue right now and it's driving me crazy! My routing number works perfectly fine for every other direct deposit I receive, but NY unemployment just keeps rejecting it. I've tried all the basic troubleshooting - different browsers, clearing cache, typing slowly, etc. Nothing works. What's really frustrating is that I can see from all these comments that this is clearly a widespread system issue, not individual user error. It seems like there are so many different potential causes - account flags, regional processing issues, account type restrictions, timing glitches. The fact that there's no clear solution or even acknowledgment from NYSDOL that this is a known problem is just inexcusable. At this point I'm seriously considering the Claimyr option that several people have mentioned since it seems like talking to an actual human is the only way to get this resolved. Has anyone found any other ways to reach a live agent without using a third-party service?