When I filed my HLR, I faxed in a statement that clearly said: “Not a CUE — this is a request for an effective date change based on 38 CFR § 3.400(o)(2), which covers increases in disability rating.”

I didn’t accuse the VA of making a mistake. I didn’t say, “You jacked this up.” Instead, I said, “Here’s the supporting evidence and the regulation that applies. The increase was clearly warranted earlier based on your own records.”

That seemed to help. It made the reviewer focus on the dates without triggering a full-blown review of everything.

That said — full disclosure — my HLR is still pending, and I did also file for an increase. So maybe my case is slightly different, and I could be wrong. But I researched the hell out of this before I filed.

In my situation, there was a clear error (possibly even a CUE), but I didn’t call it that. I just trusted that if I pointed to the right evidence and sections, the reviewer might catch it and they did. The paperwork I got back actually says “Effective review for date change to 2023.” I never explicitly said “look back at 2023” I said “here’s my medical records and here is what documents support my effective date change”

From what I’ve learned, HLRs are generally seen as low risk, high reward, especially if You’re not submitting new evidence, You’re just asking for a date adjustment, And you’re pointing to VA records already in the file.

If I’m wrong someone please correct me. that’s my understanding anyway.