As a whole, those who serve in the military learn to be quite nomadic. From the time you join the service and enter boot camp, until the time you are discharged, you have likely had more than one temporary address.
As a Veteran, moving is a big possibility too. Once you have changed your mailing address, hooked up your utilities at your new home, and most importantly, got your cable back, it’s time to think of how moving alters your VA disability claim. The biggest thing that impacts your VA claim when you move is actually where you move. Let’s explore this subject in a little more detail.
Let’s say you live in West Virginia. In this situation, you are moving from Parkersburg, which is in the northern part of the state, to Charleston, which is in the southern part of the state. In this situation, there won’t likely be many issues or delays in your case. The reason for this is that you would be moving in-state, and West Virginia only has one regional VA office. Because of this, there is no need to worry about transferring your veterans benefits to another office. However, it is important to note that you must notify the VA of your new address as soon as possible to avoid missing correspondence.
Let’s say you move from North Carolina to Pennsylvania. Since you are moving from one state to another, not only do you have to change your address, you must also change your VA Regional Office. When changing Regional Offices, you will likely encounter delays. The reason for this is quite simple: your file and veterans benefits must be transferred from one state to another. Just like all of your belongings had to be transferred, the same holds true for your VA File. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as sending a FedEx package from one office to the next. You must request your benefits claims file be transferred to your new VA Regional Office.
Additionally, some states have more than one VA Regional Office. These states include: Pennsylvania, New York, and Texas with two, and California with three. It is possible to move from one side of the state to the other and still change Regional Offices.
States that cover a large physical area, but are sparsely populated have bordering counties that are actually serviced by a neighboring state. An example of this situation would be Hancock County in West Virginia. Instead of Huntington being your Regional Office, you would go to Pittsburgh.)
We realize subjects like this can be confusing, and at times, upsetting. At our firm, we handle these kinds of tasks for you. It’s just one of the many reasons so many Veterans all over the country turn to us for help with transferring their claims. If you have further questions, such as how to change your VA primary care location, or wish to learn more about how we can help you, call our office today.
