Approval rates
Judge Romeo has maintained a lifetime approval rate of 55% over her 10-year tenure. In the most recent reporting period, her approval rate was 43%, which is 5 percentage points below the New York Hearing Office average of 60%. These figures are drawn from a docket of 13,673 lifetime decisions. Aggregate rates describe past decisions rather than serving as a prediction 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 Romeo'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 a decade on the bench, Judge Romeo's approval rate has fluctuated, peaking at 66% in 2017 before trending toward a more moderate range. Her 13,673 lifetime decisions show a career that began with higher approval trends, followed by a period of adjustment in 2021 and 2022. The most recent data indicates a 43% approval rate, which represents a shift from her historical lifetime average. This pattern reflects changes in the complexity of cases and the specific evidence presented in recent dockets.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Romeo'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 Romeo? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the New York hearing office
The New York Hearing Office serves a high volume of claimants, maintaining a latest approval rate of 60%. As one of the busier offices in the country, it manages a diverse caseload that requires careful preparation of medical records and vocational testimony. Understanding the local environment is a key step in your SSDI journey. You can visit the New York (New York) 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. Within the New York Hearing Office, individual judge lifetime approval rates vary significantly, ranging from 37% to 82% across the bench. Because you cannot choose your judge, focus on the strength of your medical evidence. The guidance for your hearing 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.