I am a disabled veteran of the War on Terror who received VR&E benefits for undergraduate training in nursing. When I requested higher-level trai(...)
M.T.
I was initially approved for VR&E but my intended goal of being retrained as a dentist was denied. I am a husband and father to two young girls. (...)
A.S.
I am rated 100%. I was denied training to become a Psychologist. At first, VR&E gave me the impression they supported my career goal but that qui(...)
J.M.
Veterans fighting for Veteran Readiness & Employment (VR&E) benefits—formerly called VA Voc Rehab or Chapter 31 Vocational Rehabilitation—often discover that the real challenge begins after they receive a denial or a lowballed training plan.
Some veterans are fortunate and work with counselors who follow the law and genuinely want to help them succeed. But many others run straight into a wall of pitfalls, biases, misinformation, and outright errors that can derail their vocational goals for years.
If you’re in the fight right now, you’re not imagining it—VR&E appeals can be frustrating, illogical, and emotionally exhausting. But with the right strategy and legal support, these pitfalls can be overcome.
At Krause Law, PLLC, we help veterans win the VR&E benefits they earned—even after wrongful denials, misunderstandings, or adverse decisions that contradict the law.
This guide explains the most common pitfalls veterans face when appealing VR&E denials—and how to avoid them.
Think of the old Atari game Pitfall!—you’re running through the jungle and danger appears everywhere, not just in the obvious pits.
VR&E decisions work the same way. The danger isn’t always visible. Many denials originate from one of the following:
A counselor who misunderstands VR&E law
A counselor who is biased against certain vocational goals
A counselor who uses illegal local policy instead of national policy
A counselor who simply fails to do the job properly
With a nearly $1.8 billion budget, the VR&E program should work smoothly. But the truth is more complicated.
Many veterans reasonably expect a simple process:
You provide evidence → VR&E counselor reviews → Counselor decides → Veteran begins training.
This would be true in a rational world. But in VR&E, 1 + 1 does not always equal 2.
Sometimes it equals 3, sometimes 0, depending on who processed your claim and what biases they brought with them.
This isn’t about villainizing every counselor. Many VR&E counselors genuinely care and try to follow the law. But even the best can fall victim to internal pressure, flawed assumptions, or outdated local practices that contradict federal guidance.
And then there are others—the ones whose biases or indifference can sink a veteran’s future career before it begins.
When we talk about “biases” or “lies,” we’re referring to unwritten rules or false statements that influence decisions without any legal basis.
Here are the most common—and most destructive—VR&E counselor biases we see in appeals:
A significant number of counselors assume:
“Disabled veterans can’t run their own businesses.”
This is false—and illegal—but many self-employment plans are denied without meaningful review. Some counselors simply do not believe disabled veterans should become entrepreneurs.
This is one of the biggest battles veterans face.
Some counselors insist:
“Voc Rehab doesn’t pay for law school.”
“Voc Rehab doesn’t do medical school anymore.”
“Recent laws forbid VR&E from approving graduate degrees.”
All of this is false.
VR&E has funded law school, medical school, doctoral programs, and other advanced training for decades. Many counselors continue to mislead veterans into believing these programs are off-limits.
This happened to me personally—twice—before I finally found a counselor willing to approve my plan to become an attorney.
VR&E regional offices sometimes rely on “local policy” that contradicts national regulations. Counselors feel pressured to follow those local directives—even when they violate the law.
It’s ugly, but it’s true.
Some VR&E counselors hold resentment, jealousy, or disdain for the veterans they serve. Their biases directly impact case outcomes, especially for those with higher disability ratings or ambitious career goals.
Back in 2010, I wrote about this problem in Military.com and later expanded the article on DisabledVeterans.org. The lies veterans still report today include:
“You can’t use VR&E if you are IU.”
“Veterans with families fail more often.”
“VR&E won’t pay for graduate school.”
“Your disability rating is too high to succeed.”
“If you have a job, you don’t qualify.”
These statements were false then—and they are false now.
Before 2019, appealing a VR&E denial was straightforward. A veteran could write a Notice of Disagreement on the back of a napkin, mail it in, and the appeal would begin. Veterans could submit evidence at any stage. VR&E had to fix errors at any point during the appeal.
Those days are gone.
On February 19, 2019, the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA) changed everything.
Veterans now must choose between three decision review lanes:
Higher-Level Review
Supplemental Claim
Formal Appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals
Choosing the wrong lane can destroy your chances of getting training in time for a semester—or even for an entire career.
VR&E denials now require strategic planning, legal insight, and an understanding of how the AMA system interacts with VR&E’s unique structure.
VR&E appeals are uniquely challenging because:
Deadlines are strict
Wrong review lanes can delay benefits by years
Counselors may double down when threatened with mistakes
Regional offices may defend illegal policies to protect themselves
Veterans must now build legal arguments and evidence pathways
Waiting 1–2 years for VR&E approval can destroy a veteran’s chance to enter a new profession—especially when pursuing high-value careers like law, medicine, psychology, engineering, or business.
Most veterans don’t lose because they’re wrong.
They lose because the system is designed in a way that punishes veterans who don’t speak the VR&E language.
I’ve spent over a decade helping veterans win VR&E benefits—first as an advocate, then as a journalist, and now as an attorney.
But more importantly:
VR&E helped me:
Earn a degree from Northwestern University
Earn my Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota with high honors
Launch my law firm with VR&E-provided technology and equipment
None of this came easy. I faced false statements, unlawful denials, and counselors who tried to steer me into careers that didn’t match my abilities or goals.
Because of that fight, I built an entire practice around helping other veterans avoid the same pitfalls.
I developed the Voc Rehab Survival Guide—the first comprehensive course teaching veterans how VR&E really works.
I founded the Chapter 31 Voc Rehab Facebook group, now with 40,000+ veterans.
I’ve spent years meeting with senior VR&E officials, studying their policies, and writing more than 2,000 articles on VA benefits.
As a journalist, I exposed two national VA scandals:
The TBI scandal involving unqualified doctors misdiagnosing ~25,000 veterans
The emergency room payment scandal, where the VA illegally refused to reimburse non-VA ER bills
Those investigations triggered Inspector General reviews and congressional oversight hearings.
I don’t just practice veterans law—I challenge VA failures publicly and relentlessly.
I understand VR&E denial pain because I lived it.
If your VR&E benefits were denied—whether you’re seeking law school, medical school, counseling, engineering, business ownership, or technical training—there is a path forward.
You deserve:
A counselor who follows the law
A career that matches your abilities and goals
A future that isn’t limited by someone else’s bias
And you deserve help from someone who knows the system from the inside out.
Let’s review your denial, identify your best appeal lane, and give you a plan to fight back.
You fought for us.
Now let me fight for you.
Lack of documentation showing an employment handicap
Expiration of eligibility window (for pre-2013 discharges)
Counselor error
Reliance on illegal local policy rather than VR&E law
Under AMA, veterans must choose:
Higher-Level Review
Supplemental Claim
Formal Appeal
Higher-Level Reviews and Formal Appeals must be filed within one year of the decision. Supplemental Claims must be filed within one year to preserve the effective date.
Higher-Level Review: 3–6 months
Supplemental Claim: 3–6 months
Board Appeal: 3–5 years
Yes. Veterans can work with:
Accredited attorneys
Accredited claims agents
Accredited VSOs
Representation can dramatically improve outcomes in VR&E appeals.
Higher-Level Review: 1 year
Formal Appeal: 1 year
Supplemental Claim: 1 year to keep your effective date; otherwise, can be filed anytime
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