Questions and answers

SSDI is for people who worked and paid Social Security taxes long enough to earn work credits. SSI is for adults and children with limited income and savings, whatever their work history. Both use the same medical rules. Some people qualify for both.

No. Anyone can apply on their own. A representative helps most with the details that are easy to miss and with appeals and hearings, where the rules get more technical.

A first decision often takes several months. If you appeal, each stage can add many more months, and hearings often take the longest. We tell you what to expect at each step, without promising dates we do not control.

Some limited work is possible, but earning above Social Security's monthly limit usually means you will not be found disabled. Talk to us before you take a job or add hours.

SSDI usually comes with Medicare after 24 months of benefits. SSI usually comes with Medicaid in New Mexico. We explain the timing for your case.

Your denial letter if you have one, a list of your doctors and clinics, your recent jobs, and your medicines. If you do not have these handy, call anyway. We can start without them.

Usually it is better to appeal. An appeal keeps your original application date, which can protect months of back pay. Call us before you decide.

Generally 60 days from the day you receive the letter. Social Security assumes you got it five days after the date printed on it. For benefits that are stopping after a review, there is also a 10-day window to ask that payments continue during the appeal.

Call us. A late appeal can sometimes be accepted with a good reason, like a hospital stay. If not, we help you plan a new application.

You meet with an administrative law judge by phone, video or in person. The judge asks about your health, work and daily life. Experts may also testify. Most hearings last under an hour. We prepare you ahead of time and are with you throughout.

The first call and case evaluation are free. If we represent you under a fee agreement, you pay no fee unless you win and back pay is owed. The fee is generally 25% of your back pay, up to a dollar cap that Social Security sets and updates from time to time. Social Security must approve it.

No. Under a fee agreement, the fee can only come from past-due benefits. Your monthly checks going forward are yours.

You owe no attorney fee. We cover routine costs like medical record copy fees while your claim is open, and if you do not win, you owe us nothing for them.

No, and no honest representative can. Only Social Security decides claims. What we can promise is careful work, plain answers and calls that get returned.

Yes. Teresa, Marisol and Daniel speak Spanish, and our Spanish line is open the same hours as our main line. We can arrange interpreters for other languages.

Yes. We meet by phone or video anywhere in New Mexico, and we can visit you at home or in the hospital in the Albuquerque area when travel is hard.

Yes. Clients hear from us at least once a month while a claim is open, and whenever something changes. You can also call the case status line on weekdays.