I recently ran into a frustrating situation with my unemployment benefits in New York. On August 4th, I accidentally certified for weekly benefits for the period of July 26 to August 1 while using a VPN. I had just started a free trial of Avast and didn't think it would be an issue. However, I received an error message indicating that I was trying to certify from outside the country, which I later learned was due to the VPN. I turned off the VPN and certified again without issues. The next morning, I woke up to find that all my claim payments were on hold. I was instructed to complete an out-of-country questionnaire to have my payments reinstated. I submitted the questionnaire along with proof of my VPN usage, my passport, and bank statements on August 5th, but I haven't heard back since then. Getting in touch with the unemployment claims line has been nearly impossible. I've called multiple times at different hours, but the line just hangs up on me without even offering to put me on hold. I can't send messages through their online system either, as the text box is grayed out or my messages just disappear after I hit send. I'm really anxious about this situation since I haven't received any payments in over four weeks now. I plan to visit the UI office in person this week to get an update, as I want to ensure everything is in order and that I will be paid. I’ve seen posts from others who faced similar issues, but many of those were during COVID, and I’m worried about the timeline for resolution. Any advice or insights from others who have been through this would be greatly appreciated!