If you have been denied at the Hearing level, your next option is the Appeals Council. This means submitting a Request for Review of Hearing Decision. The Appeals Council will then review your file and the judge’s decision and determine if the judge made any technical errors or did not sufficiently take your medical records into account. In some cases, the claim may be remanded (sent back to the judge to have another hearing). The whole process may take from six months to two years.
In other cases, the Appeals Council may deny your Request for Review. At this point your next option is to appeal to the Federal District Court. The Federal District Court does sometimes approve claimants, but it is uncommon and usually takes 1-3 years for a decision to be made. It is strongly recommended that if your claim gets this far, you both appeal to the Federal District Court and start a brand new claim with Social Security. This gives you a greater chance of having your disability claim seriously considered.