I was afraid mine would take forever also. But I guess I am "screwed up enough" that they awarded me on my first try. Make sure you have your documentation in, and see if you can make a personal connection with your worker. I called mine because I wanted to make sure I was doing things correctly. She ended up advocating for me quite a bit (this helped a lot). She also seemed to make more of an effort to call me if something was missing, or helped me track down whatever info she still needed to complete the file. Despite years worth of paperwork, she still wanted me to get an additional eval by someone they chose. After talking to her a bit, she made sure that the request they sent was for a female evaluator (I have trust issues with guys that I'm working on). That also helped a lot, as I was able to be a hair more comfortable during the visit.

It's not impossible to be approved on the first try, but I think it helps to put a bit more effort into it. The personal connections go a long way in figuring it all out (and then it's not as scary to call the second time you have questions or concerns). I know my lady often sounded abrupt, but she was still always nice. They tend to get heavy case-loads, so I'm sure they get frazzled.

Good luck!