4-1-1 on appeals

Appeals are offered to claimants at all levels of decisions – except if your current claim is denied at federal court the option at the point for claimants is to start a new claim. Generally, you have sixty days after you receive the notice of decision to ask for any type of appeal.

The first appeal available to a claimant is the reconsideration – which may be requested after the denial of initial claim. The second appeal available to a claimant is the hearing before an admistrative law judge. A hearing may be requested after receiving reconsideration denial. The Appeals Council review process of an admistrative law judge decision begins after an application for benefits has been denied at the initial, reconsideration, and hearing levels. On average, initial and reconsiderations are completed in four months or less, and hearings before a judge are granted about nine months to twelve months after a hearing is requested.

Although appeals process can be a frustrating and lengthy – it’s important to not give up – you must appeal within sixty day deadline to ensure your claim is processed as soon as possible.