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Social Security Disability is an insurance program.

This means you must pay enough into the system to be eligible for Social Security Disability benefits.

You must be found disabled before your date of last insurance.

For instance, if your date of last insurance is December 31, 2010, then you must prove you were unable to work before this date.

Some people have a date of last insurance of several years ago. This makes it very difficult to prove your case because the medical records from years ago are usually not that supportive.

There is also the question of why you waited to file your case several years later.

The date of last insurance problem usually happens when you have not worked for a number of years, or you have worked sporadically, or you did not pay Social Security taxes.

Even so you may still be eligible for SSI, which is a different type of program.

For the most part, the Judge controls your fate. You may appeal if denied, however, your chances of winning on appeal are very low.

Whether the Judge is nice or not does not matter.

She is looking for certain things to help her decide your case.

Such as what does your doctor say about your symptoms, restrictions, and limitations.

What kind of work you did in the past 15 years.

What is your age?

What is your education?

What you do each day?

The Administrative Law Judge must decide what type of work you can perform.

The other thing is that you are stuck with the Judge you are assigned. There is no Judge shopping.

The best thing you can do is be ready for the type of questions the Judge will ask.