Tuesday, October 18, 2011

When Will I Find Out If I’ve Won?

By Stacey Laskin, an Advocate from the Chicago Binder & Binder® office

If your hearing is one of the many that ends with some uncertainty, your next question will be some variation of, “How long?”

The answer is that I don’t know how long. I really don’t. For the most part, it’s completely outside my control. However, some judges are known for quick turn-around in just a few weeks and others have a reputation for dragging their feet for months. I can let you know about my experience with your judge and what you might expect.

Your judge will probably take your file after the hearing and stick it in a pile. Some time in the future, he or she may look at your file again and propose a decision. Then a staff attorney might review the file. The attorney and the judge may discuss the proposed decision. That decision could change several times throughout the course of their research. Eventually, the staff attorney will write up your decision and then give it to the judge for review and editing. Once the decision is completed, the Social Security Administration will mail a copy to both you and me.

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