My first unemployment payment still has not arrived

I applied for unemployment in Baltimore 21 weeks ago and the status page still says pending. I would rather hear the honest version than the polite one. The page shows my claim as open but no payment date. What would you check first?

Mine took about 21 weeks because of an identity check I did not notice. Look for a message or a letter you may have missed in your online account.

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 4 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.