My husband, a Marine combat vet, was awarded 40% service connected. We appealed and requested a DRO review last September 2014. We hired a lawyer, had an extensive independent medical exam done proving he deserves a higher rating, and got all our evidence documented. We have heard nothing from the VA in a year's time until this past week when my husband's lawyer was faxed an I-9 form and nothing else. His lawyer was under the impression that this means we have lost our appeal at the DRO level as they are sending us the I-9 form to fill out to send us on to the BVA. My husband called the 1-800 number on two separate occasions this past Friday and asked two different reps why they sent us the I-9 form. One stated they needed it before the DRO review is done and the other said his review was complete but couldn't talk about it for 10 business days. So two entirely different answers. Gee thanks for the assistance. We are so confused at this point and so very discouraged as my husband is in pain daily and we have waited and waited with no correspondence at all. If anyone knows why they would fax our lawyer an I-9 form and can help us out it would be greatly appreciated. Does this mean we lost at the DRO level or do they just need this form before they complete the review for some reason? After all this with the VA I really feel for veterans. It's so unethical how our vets are treated.