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Updated July 2026 · SSA Public
Hearing Office
ALBANY
Avg processing
319days
+53 vs national
Processing time
319
10.6 months
Hearing wait
8.5
months (current)
Cases pending
3,540
FY receipts
3,937
FY dispositions
2,158
Active judges
10
Video hearings
26%
of hearings held
Avg approval rate
61.0%
+3.3 vs avg
Backlog ratio
1.82
Growing
Rank
#151
of 160
Processing time in context
Fastest · 72 daysAvg · 266 daysSlowest · 680 days
The draw · approval spread across 10 judges
34%
92%
0%Median 55.1%100%
At ALBANY, approval rates range from 34.3% (Loughlin, John) to 92.3% (Kelly, Paul F) — a 58-pointspread. Assignment is effectively the luck of the draw, so the judge a case lands with can matter more than the office’s average. Plan for the median (55.1%), not the best case.
Judges at ALBANY (10)
| Judge | Approval | Decisions | Favorable | Denied | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelly, Paul F | 92.3% | 298 | 275 | 23 | |
| Farrell, John G | 79.9% | 249 | 199 | 50 | |
| Black-Pennington, Dale | 72.3% | 242 | 175 | 67 | |
| Lardaro, Elizabeth A. | 65.7% | 213 | 140 | 73 | |
| Marcus, Michelle S | 56.3% | 112 | 63 | 49 | |
| Mulvey, Jude | 53.9% | 141 | 76 | 65 | |
| Soltes, Andrew | 52.1% | 326 | 170 | 156 | |
| Greisler, Gretchen | 48.5% | 165 | 80 | 85 | |
| Ba-Yunus, Asad | 44.2% | 308 | 136 | 172 | |
| Loughlin, John | 34.3% | 230 | 79 | 151 |