Jim,

I now you are no fan of e-benefits and here's a great example of how confusing it can be.

As I told you the other day, I received a call from a woman who identified herself as a DRO granting me service connection for sleep apnea and rhinitus. I believe this was based on a Substantive Appeal Form 9 I submitted in May 2013 however, I never got a docket number from BVA and assumed it had not, as yet, left the regional VARO.

I happened to look at e-benefits this morning to see if any payment award had been made and also checked the appeal status for grins. No payment award yet, probably because of the holiday weekend. Following is the quote from e-benefits on the appeal status:

Current Progress Description: Your case has been received at BVA, and BVA has mailed your decision to you (and your representative, if any) and will be returning your claims file to the VA Medical Center. Please note that transit times vary, and there may be some lag time between when BVA forwards your claims file to its appropriate location and when that location receives it.

This would seem to indicate that it was a BVA person, not the DRO  who made the decision. Do you have any clue as to what may have occurred or how I can find out?

Reply:

No, I haven't any clue. This is pretty typical of how the appeals process works and is one of the reasons the acronym FUBAR was invented.

I doubt that there is any way you can find out just where your file is at or where it's been. If you have the patience of a saint, nerves of steel and plenty of time to waste, you can start calling to inquire. I doubt that you'll make any progress but it's common for veterans to do all that as a way to entertain themselves. You'll only know what the status of your claim is when you receive the letter in the mail.