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Veterans Benefits Administration

Organization: Insurance Service
Address: 5000 Wissahickon Avenue
City: Philadelphia,
State: PA
Zip Code: 19144
Country: USA
Network Address: None
Hours Of Service: 24 hrs. a day, 7 days wk.
Telephone: (800) 669 - 8477
Fax: (202) 565 - 5004
Order Process: Call, write or visit to obtain more information.

State Regional Offices

VBA REGIONAL OFFICE ADDRESSES as of (04/20/00)

Ask Benefits questions via e-mail

Organizations Chartered by Congress and/or Recognized by VA for Claim Representation

Veterans Administration Electonic Department

Fill out your application electronically here.

Veteran Benefit Administration Forms

The VONAPP (Veterans On Line Applications)
website is an official Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) website designed so U.S. military veterans and
some servicemembers within six months of separation or retirement
can apply for compensation, pension, and vocational
rehabilitation benefits through the Internet. This is a first
step towards an electronic VA. VONAPP will
allow veterans, and in the future, dependents
and other VA claimants, electronic access
to file applications with us on-line.

VONAPP

An In-depth Step by Step.....

I

APPEALS
Filing an appeal is a time-consuming process and
takes patience, endurance, and
time! To start the appeals process, you must
first file a written Notice of Disagreement (NOD).
Be sure you make and keep copies for your records.
Keep a good record of your correspondance with the VA.
The Notice of Disagrement is filed with the
local VA regional office or medical center that
made the decision that you are appealing.
There is no special form for this process just simply
write your statement notifying the VA that

(1) you disgree with your local VA office's claim determination, and

(2) you want to appeal it. Be specific about
which claim you are appealing. For example, a medical claim would be
different from a claim for pension or disability.
Be sure to include all reference numbers.

You must meet two important time limits, or the Court
cannot consider your appeal:

After you filed your claim with a VA regional office (RO),
you were notified of its decision. If you weren't satisfied,
you or your representative filed a written Notice of Disagreement
(NOD) at the RO, which sent a Statement of the Case to
you. The Statement of the Case usually shows
the date you filed your NOD. Your NOD must have been filed on or
after November 18, 1988.

After you appealed to the BVA, the BVA mailed
its final decision to you. You must have a final
decision from the BVA not the RO before you can appeal to
this Court. Usually, the date stamped
on the front of the BVA's decision is the date when it
was mailed. You must file your Notice of Appeal
with the Court at the address below within 120 days after
the date when the BVA mailed its decision
to you and your representative.

If you decide to appeal, fill in the Notice
of Appeal form. The fee for an appeal is $50.00. If you
cannot pay this fee, use the Motion to Waive Filing
Fee form. Follow the instructions on the forms
carefully and mail them to

Clerk, U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
625 Indiana Avenue, NW, Suite 900
Washington, D.C. 20004-2950

or fax them to the Court at 202-501-5848.

You may not file them by email.

II

VA Form 9 and Filing Your Appeal

After receiving the Notice of Disagreement (NOD), the VA will mail the claimant
a Statement of the Case describing what facts,
laws and regulations were used in deciding the case. A
VA Form 9 (Appeal to the Board of Veterans Appeals)
will be included with the Statement of the Case.
You must complete and submit the VA Form 9 within
60 days of the mailing of the Statement of the Case, or within one
year from the date the VA mailed its decision, whichever
is later. Send your VA Form 9 to the local VA office
handling your case; the office will
file this and all related information in a claims folder, and will
eventually forward it to the Board of Veterans Appeals
for review.

On VA Form 9, make sure you clearly state the benefit you
want and point out any mistakes you think the VA has
made in its decision. If you submit new information or evidence
with your VA Form 9, your local VA office will prepare
a Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC).
If you are not satisfied with the SSOC, you have 60 days
from the date the SSOC was mailed to submit,
in writing, what you disagree with.

Usually, the above is all the paperwork you will need
to send to your VA office. The one major exception is
if you receive a SSOC covering a new issue. In this case,
you must complete a supplemental VA Form 9 covering the new
issue if you want to appeal it.
For example, if you are appealing a pension ruling,
and before the pension ruling is resolved,
you appeal a medical payment ruling and receive an SSOC on
the medical payment decision, you must send your VA
office a VA Form 9 on the medical payment appeal.
It is possible to get an extension for the 60-day window
you have to submit your VA Form 9 or respond
to the SSOC. Simply write to your local VA office
handling your appeal and explain why you
need extra time to file.

III

Representation

You can represent yourself in your appeal if you wish,
but most people who appeal obtain representation.
You can choose to be represented by a Veteran's Service
Organization (VSO) or your state's veterans department.
Most VSOs have trained personnel who specialize
in providing help with claims and appeals.
Your local VA office can provide a list of approved
veterans appeal representatives in your area.
You can also be represented by a private lawyer
or recognized agent.

If you want representation, fill out a VA Form 21-22
to authorize a VSO to represent you, or use VA Form 22a to
authorize an attorney or recognized agent to represent you.

IV

Board Review

Once you have filed your appeal with your local VA office,
it will be forwarded to the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA).
Your VA office will send you a letter when they receive your
claims folder. You have 90 days from the mailing date of
this letter, or when the Board decides your
case (whichever comes first), to add more evidence
to your file, request a hearing (see Step Five) or
select/change your representative (See Step Three).

If you need to submit any of these items after the 90 days
are up, you must submit a written request to the Board,
with an explanation for why the item(s) are late.

Until your file is transferred to the Board, your local VA
office is the best place to get information about your appeal.
After your file has been transferred, you can call (202) 565-5436
to check on its status.

The Board processes appeals files in the order received.
It will assign your case a docket number. For example,
if your appeal was the very first appeal to be reviewed
in the year 1999, it would have docket number 99-00001.
Thus, the larger your docket number,
the longer you may have to wait for your case to be reviewed.

On average, you may have to wait two or more years
after you file your appeal
for the Board to pass a final decision on your case.
Complex cases may take longer. If you want your
appeal to be reviewed sooner, you can try writing directly to the
Board and explain the reasons why you need a quicker ruling.

Write to this address:

Board of Veterans Appeals (014)
Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20420
You will need "convincing proof of exceptional circumstances,"
which includes situations such as terminal illness,
danger of bankruptcy or foreclosure, or an error by the VA
that caused a significant delay in the docketing of your
appeal. Be sure to provide
evidence (i.e., bankruptcy notices) if you have it.

V

Personal Hearings

If you wish, you can also have a personal hearing.
A personal hearing is a meeting between you (and your legal
representative, if you have one) and a VA official who will decide your
case. During this meeting, you present testimony
and other evidence supporting your case.
There are two types of personal hearings: local office hearings
and BVA hearings.

A local office hearing is held at your local VA office between
you and a "hearing officer" from the local office's staff.
To arrange a local office hearing, you should contact
your local VA office or your appeal representative
as early in the appeal process as possible.

In addition to a local office hearing, you have the right
to present your case in person to a member of the Board of Veterans
Appeals (a BVA hearing). In most parts of the U.S., you can
choose whether to hold this hearing at your local VA office, or at the
BVA office in Washington, DC (but not both).

To request a BVA hearing, check the
appropriate box on VA Form 9. If you have already submitted your
VA Form 9 without checking the box, you can request a
hearing by writing directly to the Board of Veterans
Appeals within 90 days. Be sure you clearly
state whether you want the hearing held at your local VA
office or in Washington. Please note
that the BVA cannot pay for any expenses
such as lodging or travel in connection with a hearing.

Basically, to "testify" at a BVA hearing just means to tell
what you know about your case. VA hearings
are much more informal than court hearings, so you don't
need to worry about technical
rules of evidence or being cross-examined when you testify

Some local offices offer video teleconferencing, so you can
have your BVA hearing at your local office while the BVA
member talks to you from Washington. Check with
your local VA office to see if it offers this option.

Be aware that a personal hearing may take some time
to arrange. Most BVA hearings are held about three
months before the case is actually reviewed by the Board.

VI

The Board's Decision

The Board will notify you when it receives your appeal from
the local VA office. When the docket number for
your appeal is reached, your file will be examined
by a Board member and a staff attorney who will check it for
completeness, and review all the evidence, your arguments,
personal hearing transcripts (if any), the statement of your
representative (if you have one) and any other information.

Once a decision has been reached, the Board will
notify you in writing. Your decision will be mailed to your
home address, so it is extremely important you keep
the VA informed of your current address.

If the claimant dies before the Board makes a final decision,
the Board normally dismisses the appeal
without issuing a decision. The rights of the deceased
claimant's survivors are not affected by this action.
Survivors may still file a claim at the local
VA office for any benefits to which they may be entitled.

Sometimes the Board will remand an appeal,
which means it returns the case to
your local VA office with instructions for additional
work to be done. Remands may occur because of changes
in the law, or if you do (or don't do) certain things.

After your local VA office performs whatever additional work is
necessary, it will review your case and issue a new
decision. If its original ruling still holds, it will
send the case back to the Board for a final decision. The case
keeps its original place on the Board's
docket, so it will be reviewed soon after the
Board receives it.

VI

Disagreement With the Board's Decision

If you disagree with the Board's final ruling,
you can appeal to the U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals
for Veterans Claims. Normally, you must file a Notice of
Appeal with the Court within 120 days from the
date the Board's decision is mailed to you.

To get more information about the Notice of Appeal,
methods for filing with the Court, Court filing fees and other related
matters, you can call the Court at 1-800-869-8654 or write
to the address below:

United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
625 Indiana Ave, NW, Suite 900
Washington, DC 20004
Telephone: (202) 501-5970

If you appeal to the Court, you should also file a copy
of the Notice of Appeal with the VA General Counsel
at the following address:

Office of the General Counsel (027)
Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20420

There are other ways to challenge the Board's decision:
Motion for Reconsideration If you can prove
that the Board made an obvious error of fact or law in its decision, you
can file a written motion for reconsideration.
If you have a representative, you should consult with him/her
about whether you should file a motion.

Reopening the Case If you have new evidence,
you can request that your case be re-opened. To be considered,
the evidence you submit must include information related
to your case that was not included in your claims folder when
the Board decided your case. To re-open your
case, you need to submit your evidence directly
to your local VA office.

CUE Motion A Board decision can be reversed or revised
if you can prove that the decision contained "clear
and unmistakeable error" (CUE). Because CUE is a
very complicated area of law, you
should ask your representative for advice before you
decide to file a CUE motion. You can file a
CUE motion at any time, but if you file
it after filing a Notice of Appeal with the U.S. Court of
Appeals for Veterans Claims, the
Board cannot rule on your CUE motion. CUE
motions should be filed directly with the
Board, and not your local VA office.

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