GENERAL
If the claimant visits an office to file an appeal, he/she will receive a face-to-face
interview the same day. The interview may be conducted by a service representative
or higher level employee. The person who makes the reconsidered determination must
have had no prior involvement with the initial determination.
There is no protective filing for appeals. SSA has to actually receive the written
request within the time limit. An appeal request need not be on any special form.
If it appears the time limit for requesting an appeal will expire within 10 days,
or Goldberg/Kelly is desired, encourage the caller to send a written statement or
visit the FO as soon as possible. If sending a SSA-561 to the caller, write your office code and the date of the call
in the upper-right-hand corner. (This date may be a factor in deciding whether good
cause for late filing can be established.)
See SI 02301.310 for more information on Goldberg/Kelly and good cause for late filing.
NOTE: Before accepting a new disability application or processing additional evidence from
a claimant, who has a disability claim pending at any level of administrative review,
see DI 51501.001 – Procedural Change for Subsequent Disability Applications, DI 51501.005 - Claimant Requests to File a New Disability Application and DI 51501.015 - Claimant Submits Additional Evidence.