If you are going to file a claim for disability in Maine then you should know that you will have to go to the Social Security Administration (SSA) office and apply through them. If you already know that you are going to need to go, you should definitely check into making an appointment beforehand in order to save time and energy. This is because the SSA office can get very crowded and hectic, leaving people to wait up to three or four hours to see someone if they just go as a walk-in. In recent years due to the demand for a more remote accessibility to the system, the SSA has set up an online application process that you can fill out at home. However, if you have any questions or concerns, you will not be able to get them addressed through the website. Lastly, you could go and see a disability lawyer who could fill out your application and mail it into the SSA to be processed at a later date. Any of these three methods will get your application into the system.
It may seem like getting the application information together and turned in is the largest area of your job and that once it is sent in there should be nothing else left for you to do except wait. This is partially true. While it will be important for you to wait it out for a long period of time, it will also be necessary for you to make contact and see how your claim is doing. To do this, don't contact the SSA, but rather the Office of Disability Adjudication Review in Maine. This is the state office that is reviewing your application, and they will know more about where it is at in the review process than if you were to call the SSA office.
The approval rates for disability in Maine are above the national average so if you have filled out your application properly and you work to make sure that you keep in contact with the people who are reviewing the case and to answer any questions needed of you, then your chances are good on a legitimate claim. Just remember that you might need to resend you claim.
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