For applicant's willing to have their ALJ hearing via Video Conference, you should have a shorter wait time for your hearing.

If you have an attorney or non attorney rep, they will advise you if they prefer to have the hearing in person. (It may provide an advantage to have the hearing in person because attorneys will know what to expect from local ALJs they regularly appear before.)

For those that choose to attend their hearing without representation, it is important to review the approval statistics of your local hearing office.

As this link shows: http://www.ssdfacts.com/california
there is a wide difference in approval ratings based upon hearing offices. Using California as an example, the LA West office has the lowest approval ratings in the state at 36.5%, while Oakland experiences the highest at 61.1%. If you live in Oakland, you should probably insist on an in person hearing regardless of the delay. If you live in the LA West region, you should seriously consider taking the option of a Video Conference...