Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque Disability Lawyers for SSDI and SSI Claims in Central New Mexico
Albuquerque ZIP codes divide between two Social Security field offices: the Albuquerque office at Suite 100, 500 Lead Ave SW, and the Rio Rancho office at 4433 Jager Dr NE. Both are among the twelve field offices on the list of Social Security's Albuquerque hearing office, at Suite 200, 555 Broadway NE, Albuquerque, NM 87102. The other ten are Santa Fe, Las Vegas, Gallup, Farmington, Las Cruces, Roswell, Clovis, Hobbs, Carlsbad and El Paso. Downard & Associates represents adults across that area with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims, from the application through Appeals Council review. There is no fee unless you win.
How we help
How We Represent Albuquerque Claimants by Phone and Video
Consultations happen by phone or video, and our attorneys handle hearings from Tennessee by phone or video.
Federal rules decide an Albuquerque claim. The local parts are a city split between two field offices, a second hearing operation that is not open to the public, ZIP codes near the Arizona and Colorado lines, and four records routes.
New Mexico's disability determination agency sits inside the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. The division's own site says the NMDDS (New Mexico Disability Determination Services) adjudicates cases for Social Security disability benefits, and that Social Security contracts with the division to adjudicate those cases for New Mexico residents. Our New Mexico disability lawyer page covers that agency and the statewide picture.
We handle SSDI and SSI claims at the application, reconsideration, hearing and Appeals Council stages, and we respond within 3 business hours.
We have no Albuquerque office. Consultations happen by phone or video, and our attorneys handle hearings from Tennessee by phone or video. We represent adults age 18 and older. We handle SSDI cases for people who receive VA benefits, but we do not handle VA claims or appeals. We do not take disability cessation or continuing disability review cases, or cases about back pay alone, and we refer federal court appeals to affiliated counsel.
Hearing office
The Broadway NE Hearing Office and the National Hearing Center on 3rd Street
Social Security's hearing office data, the file behind its hearing office locator, puts the Albuquerque hearing office at Suite 200, 555 Broadway NE, Albuquerque, NM 87102, with office hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Its list of field offices is printed under a New Mexico heading, but the El Paso office on it is in Texas.
The same data carries a second Albuquerque entry: a National Hearing Center at Suite 400, 201 3rd Street NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102. Where other entries list field offices, this one reads that National Hearing Centers are not open to the public. Social Security's hearings manual, HALLEX I-2-1-58, describes National Hearing Centers as centralized offices that process only fully electronic files, and says transfers to them are based on workload assistance needs.
For the regular hearing office, POMS GN 03103.040 says jurisdiction is determined by the claimant's residence address, and that the office serving that address has jurisdiction even if the claimant has a representative whose office is in another hearing office's service area. A claimant can ask Social Security to move a hearing to a different office, and Social Security decides whether to do it. Whatever office your hearing letters name is the one to follow. Our hearing office directory lists offices across the country.
Field offices and zip codes
Lead Avenue or Jager Drive: The Field Office Split Inside Albuquerque
Social Security's office locator assigns the ZIP codes below to the three field offices nearest the city. The place names in parentheses are for orientation only. Assignments change, so search your own ZIP code before you rely on this list.
Albuquerque, Suite 100, 500 Lead Ave SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102: 87102, 87104 through 87110, 87112, 87121 and 87123 (Downtown, the valley and the city's southern and eastern ZIP codes); 87002, 87031 and 87068 (Belen, Los Lunas and Bosque Farms, Valencia County); 87020 (Grants); 87035 and 87059 (Moriarty and Tijeras); and 87801 (Socorro).
Rio Rancho, 4433 Jager Dr NE, Rio Rancho, NM 87144: 87113, 87114 and 87120 (north and west Albuquerque); 87111 and 87122 (the far Northeast Heights and Sandia Heights area); 87124 and 87144 (Rio Rancho); 87004 (Bernalillo); and 87048 (Corrales).
Santa Fe, 1922 5th Street, Santa Fe, NM 87505: 87501, 87505, 87507 and 87508 (Santa Fe); 87532 (Española); 87571 (Taos); and 87015 (Edgewood).
The other nine field offices on the Albuquerque hearing office list, with the addresses the locator gives:
Las Vegas, 2520 Ridge Runner Rd, Las Vegas, NM 87701
Gallup, 2070 East Aztec Avenue, Gallup, NM 87301
Farmington, 4650 N Butler, Farmington, NM 87401
Las Cruces, 2141 Summit Court, Las Cruces, NM 88011
Roswell, Room 122, 500 N Richardson Avenue, Roswell, NM 88201
Clovis, 1208 Arcineiga Dr, Clovis, NM 88101
Hobbs, 501 E Bender Blvd, Hobbs, NM 88240
Carlsbad, Suite D, 2302 W Pierce St, Carlsbad, NM 88220
El Paso, 11111 Gateway W Blvd, El Paso, TX 79935
El Paso divides between two field offices: the locator assigns some of its ZIP codes to the El Paso Gateway West field office and others to the El Paso Downtown office at 600 Texas Ave, which the hearing office list places under San Antonio. Social Security's other published records pair the two El Paso offices with Albuquerque and San Antonio differently, so an El Paso claimant should go by the Notice of Hearing. For El Paso claims, see our El Paso disability lawyer page.
Routing at the edges
Window Rock, Raton, Edgewood and the Four Corners
Window Rock and Chinle, Arizona: the locator assigns Window Rock (86515) to the Gallup, New Mexico field office, which is on the Albuquerque list. Chinle (86503) has its own office, at Tseyi Shopping Center, Hwy 191, Bay E and F, Chinle, AZ 86503, and that office is on the Phoenix (Downtown) hearing office list. Our Arizona disability lawyer page covers that state's hearing offices.
Raton and Trinidad: Raton (87740) goes to the Las Vegas, New Mexico field office on the Albuquerque list. Trinidad, Colorado (81082), on the other side of the state line, goes to the Trinidad office at 111 Waverly Avenue, which is on the Colorado Springs hearing office list.
The Four Corners: Farmington, Aztec and Shiprock (87401, 87402, 87410 and 87420) and Crownpoint (87313) go to the Farmington field office on the Albuquerque list. Durango (81301) and Cortez (81321) go to the Durango office at Suite 120, 103 Sheppard Drive, Durango, CO 81303, which is on the Colorado Springs list.
The east mountains: Edgewood (87015) goes to the Santa Fe field office, while Moriarty (87035) and Tijeras (87059) go to the Albuquerque office on Lead Avenue. Both offices are on the Albuquerque list.
Hearing formats
Phone, Video or In Person: How Social Security Sets an Albuquerque Hearing
Deadline
30days
Social Security offers hearings by phone, online video, agency video or in person. Social Security, not the claimant, sets the time and manner of appearance, under 20 CFR 404.936 for SSDI and 20 CFR 416.1436 for SSI. Before scheduling, it sends notice that it may schedule you to appear by phone or agency video, or by online video if you agree.
To object to a phone or agency video appearance, you write to Social Security within 30 days after you receive that notice. Online video goes ahead only if you agree to it in writing within 30 days after you receive Social Security's notice about it, and you can take back that agreement at any time before the hearing begins. Social Security gives more time if you show good cause for missing either window.
A claimant in Hobbs, Shiprock or Window Rock whom Social Security schedules by phone or online video appears without traveling to a hearing site. Our disability hearings page covers the hearing itself.
Local treatment records
Records From UNM Health, Presbyterian, Lovelace and the Albuquerque VA
UNM Health (UNM Hospital, Sandoval Regional Medical Center): UNM Health's request medical records page calls electronic requests the quickest method and gives three separate online request links: one for patients, one for patient representatives and one for attorneys. Paper authorization forms are the alternative. For patients applying for disability, the page asks for the Patient Release SSA-827 form and says Social Security then receives the health record data electronically, without a separate UNM authorization. UNM Hospital's records office takes faxed records requests at 505-272-0468 and imaging requests at 505-272-6608; Sandoval Regional Medical Center's office takes both at 505-994-7288.
Presbyterian: Presbyterian's privacy and security page gives the MyChart route for your own records: log in, open the Sharing Hub tab and follow the instructions. Once processed, the records sit in the MyChart Document Center, to download and print, for up to 30 days. Records for someone other than yourself use the Authorization Form for Release of Protected Health Information, and the page takes completed forms by fax at 505-841-1153, by email at phsroi@phs.org, or by mail to Release of Information/Medical Records, PO Box 26666, Albuquerque, NM 87125.
Lovelace Health System: the Lovelace medical record request page lists three routes. In MyChart, the path is Menu, My Record, Request Medical Records. Without the portal, an online request for patients or their representatives verifies identity with a photo of your driver's license and sends the copy to the email address you give. On paper, the form goes to the Health Information Management Department by fax at 505-727-9501, by email at medicalrecordsahs@datavant.com, or by mail to Medical Towers, 500 Walter NE, Suite 101A, Albuquerque, NM 87102, and the page says a paper request may carry a fee. The page does not say which Lovelace hospitals these routes cover.
VA: the Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center at 1501 San Pedro Drive SE is part of VA New Mexico health care. Its medical records office page asks for VA Form 10-5345a, Individuals' Request for a Copy of Their Own Health Information, by mail to 1501 San Pedro SE, Attn: Medical Records Office, Albuquerque, NM 87108. The walk-in Release of Information Office is in Building 41, in the basement, Room BA-104, open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The page says all available images are provided on DVD.
After a denial
Albuquerque Appeal Deadlines and Late Filings
Deadline
60days
20 CFR 404.909
Each written appeal before a hearing has its own 60-day window, counted from when you receive the notice. Reconsideration is due within 60 days after you receive the initial denial, under 20 CFR 404.909 for SSDI and 20 CFR 416.1409 for SSI. A hearing request is due within 60 days after you receive the reconsideration denial, under 20 CFR 404.933 and 20 CFR 416.1433. Social Security presumes you received a notice 5 days after the date printed on it, unless you show it reached you later, under 20 CFR 404.901 and 20 CFR 416.1401.
Missing a deadline does not end the claim if Social Security finds good cause for the delay. The examples in 20 CFR 404.911 for SSDI and 20 CFR 416.1411 for SSI include important records destroyed or damaged by fire or other accidental cause, and a notice that never reached you. File the late request promptly, with a written explanation of why it is late. Our disability appeals page walks through each level.
Common questions
Albuquerque SSDI and SSI Questions
My ZIP code is 87114 on the West Side. Which field office is mine?
The Rio Rancho field office at 4433 Jager Dr NE, under Social Security's locator data, which also assigns 87113 and 87120 there. ZIP codes such as 87102, 87106 and 87108 go to the Albuquerque office on Lead Ave SW instead. Both offices are on the Albuquerque hearing office list. Search your ZIP code at ssa.gov/locator to confirm.
Is the National Hearing Center on 3rd Street NW open to visitors?
No. Social Security's hearing office data marks National Hearing Centers as not open to the public. For anything on your case, use the office, address and instructions printed on your own Social Security letters.
I live in Window Rock. Does my field office sit in Arizona or New Mexico?
New Mexico. The locator assigns 86515 to the Gallup field office at 2070 East Aztec Avenue, Gallup, NM 87301, which is on the Albuquerque hearing office list. Chinle has its own Arizona office on the Phoenix (Downtown) list.
Which building holds the Release of Information Office at the Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center?
Building 41, in the basement, Room BA-104, at 1501 San Pedro Drive SE, according to VA New Mexico's medical records office page. It lists hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Discuss your claim
Reach Downard About an Albuquerque SSDI or SSI Claim
Call (615) 255-4307 or start a free review online, and we respond within 3 business hours. Have your ZIP code, the field office on your Social Security letters and what fits your stage. If you have not applied yet: each doctor, clinic and hospital you have seen, with rough dates. If you were denied: the notice, the date printed on it and the day it arrived, since the 60 days run from when you receive it. If you have a hearing notice: that notice and the day it reached you, since the 30 days to object to a phone or agency video appearance count from receipt.