Social Security Jacksonville

Ability to drive symbolizes US freedom for Jacksonville woman

For Indonesian-born Rita Kusmiati-Miller, freedom came with a raised gas pedal.

Had the 40-year-old Jacksonville woman stayed in her native country, she said she likely would have never learned to drive because of a hormonal deficiency that capped her height at 3 feet, 9 inches.

Now, her minivan — its accelerator, brakes and seat modified to fit her — has become a symbol of American ingenuity that helped snag her a part in an HBO documentary that premiered Monday.

"Citizen U.S.A.: A 50 State Road Trip" examines what prompted people like Kusmiati-Miller to become naturalized U.S. citizens. She said she'll never forget when a film crew approached her with that question at her naturalization ceremony several years ago.

She spent about an hour showing the filmmakers her minivan, a vehicle that's made it possible to share a vending machine business with her husband, Larry Miller.

"I can drive," was her answer when asked what she liked about living in the United States. She explained that was the first step to going into business.

Back in Indonesia, she said it's likely her disability would have held her back from working all together.

"There are still challenges but here we are helped to overcome disability. It's an American thing," Miller said.

It's not flawless equality. Kusmiati-Miller said she has been pulled over by mistake because her size has made some officers think a child was behind the wheel. Restaurant waiters sometimes give her crayons to draw on the place mat when she and her husband go out to eat.

But she's grown a sense of humor about the misunderstandings. After all, it's how she met her husband.

Kusmiati-Miller came to the United States 12 years ago from Jakarta on a temporary visa to help raise her cousin's children.

She said she was waiting for a bus in Maryland when Miller thought she may have been a little girl who needed help getting home.

"Her handbag was bigger than she was," he said.

Although marrying Miller cleared her to remain in the U.S., Kusmiati-Miller said she decided to become naturalized to take advantage of Social Security benefits should she need them later in life.

But first, there was the test.

"Studying. It was a lot of studying," she said.

Then came the first question, asking her whether she was sure she wanted to renounce her Indonesian citizenship.

Yes.

The answer that didn't fully register with her until she was required to purchase a tourist visa to visit family in Indonesia.

Social Security Update – Jacksonville area « Harrell and Harrell's ...

Our lead Social Security  attorney , Mark Papa , just got out of a meeting with the Chief Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) of the Jacksonville, FL Social Security hearing office. Here’s Mark’s summary of that meeting.

The Jacksonville Hearing Office is receiving 600 new cases per month (which, according to the Chief ALJ, means they are trying to adjudicate at least 600 cases a month, with our without a hearing);

The Jacksonville Hearing Office has 6,400 active cases currently (down from almost 12,000 active cases just 10 years ago, or so);

It is taking approximately 12 months, give or take, to have a hearing scheduled from the time that a claim is received in their office (i.e. after a Request for Hearing is filed);

The Federal fiscal year ends September 30, 2011 and right now, no one knows what Social Security’s budget will be,  The rate at which the claims are processed and heard is directly related to staffing (both support staff and ALJs) at the hearing office, which is directly related to the budget. 

Currently there are 13 ALJs housed at the Jacksonville Hearing Office.

If your claim was filed in Daytona Beach, Deland, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Lake City, Palatka, or St. Augustine, your claim will be heard by a Jacksonville ALJ. 

If we can help you or someone you know answer questions about Social Security or represent you if you are denied, please get in contact with us right away.

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