Approval rates
Judge Ambuehl has maintained a 50% lifetime approval rate over her 10-year career. In the most recent reporting period, her approval rate was 53%, compared to the Fargo Hearing Office average of 62% and the national average of 58%. These figures are drawn from a docket of 22,329 lifetime decisions. Aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for your individual hearing.
Office- and national-level breakdowns of fully favorable vs denial rates aren't currently published by SSA in the per-office disposition data. The judge's own breakdown is the detail we have today.
Approval rate over time
Year-over-year approval rate across Judge Ambuehl's docket. Annual rates fluctuate with the mix of cases SSA assigns; the longer-run pattern is more informative than any single year.
Decision pattern
Over 10 years on the bench, Judge Ambuehl has seen her approval rates fluctuate. After a period of lower approval rates between 2020 and 2022, recent years have shown a trend of rising approvals, reaching 58% in 2024 before settling at 53% in 2025. This pattern suggests that while her overall lifetime average is 50%, your recent experience may align with more recent trends.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Ambuehl's bench. Judge-specific preparation guidance requires a corpus of public Appeals Council decisions involving each judge, which we haven't built yet.
- Bring a clean treating-physician record. Longitudinal primary-care or specialist notes spanning the disability period, with consistent symptom documentation, are typically the strongest evidence at hearing. A single month's records usually aren't enough.
- Don't rely on consultative exams alone. If your medical evidence is built primarily around a one-time CE finding, expect detailed questioning. Supplement with treating-source statements where possible.
- Prepare for daily-activity questions. Have honest, specific answers about a typical day. Answers that conflict with the medical record (in either direction) tend to hurt credibility.
- Expect transferable-skills probing. A vocational expert will usually testify about jobs available to someone with your limitations. Your representative should be prepared to cross-examine.
Hearing with Judge Ambuehl? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Fargo hearing office
The Fargo Hearing Office serves you and other claimants across North Dakota and surrounding regions, managing a high volume of disability cases. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains a latest approval rate of 62%. You can expect a professional environment where the focus remains on the specific medical documentation provided in your file. You can visit the Fargo Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases to judges using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment is essentially random. Across the Fargo Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates for the bench range from 46% to 64%. Because every judge operates with different preferences for evidence presentation, it is helpful to understand the local landscape. The guidance for your preparation remains consistent regardless of which judge you are assigned.
Your odds change dramatically with a lawyer
SSDI hearing approval rates — represented vs. on your own
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.