The Veteran's VR&E benefits were denied for pursuing a doctorate degree at the Foreign University due to his employment handicap and lack of hardship, despite having multiple master's degrees.
The deciding factor: VA determined that the Veteran's disabilities prevented him from achieving his vocational goal of becoming a professor, making it not reasonably feasible.
- Claimed conditions
- Major Depressive Disorder with Generalized Anxiety Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2022
- Citation
- 22001009
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,456 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 22001009.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The appeal of the proposed rating reduction for Major Depressive Disorder with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and the ratings for left and right tibia stress fractures were dismissed due to untimely filings.
- Denied
The Board denied earlier effective dates for increased ratings and service connection, finding that the evidence did not support an increase in severity of the disabilities within one year prior to December 21, 2022.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of December 23, 2014 for service connection of Major Depressive Disorder with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. The Veteran's earlier claim was reopened due to new and material evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings on multiple conditions has been remanded, and the claim for erectile dysfunction was withdrawn. The initial rating for MDD with GAD remains denied.
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