SF Consulate Experience??

[Anglmart]

Has anyone had success, or have tips when dealing with the SF consulate? My brother, sister, Mother and I are just starting the process of citizenship via jure sanguinis.

Also, I am in a different jurisdiction than the rest of my family but we wanted to submit a group application. Am I eligible to do this, or do I need a separate app? I assume this may also be up to the individual consulate.

Thanks in advance!!!
Grazie

[Roccella]

SF is wonderful, very nice to deal with. You will not be able to be part of the group application if you do not reside in their district.

You have a few options to keep the expense down - which is "your" consulate?

[Anglmart]

My brother will apply with the SF consulate, and I will apply with the Chicago consulate. We are combining efforts to obtain documents, and will share the cost of translation too. It will be interesting to see how far apart our appt times/dates are since we will both request them at about the same time.

The SF consulate web page requirements seem a little more straight-forward than Chicago's. Any tips you can share for the process in SF (or Chicago) is greatly appreciated! From what I've read, being organized and well prepared is a must.

Thank you, Angela

[Roccella]

Well I did a mail-in appt with SF and that is only available if you live out of state while still in their district. It saved tons of money for us. My biggest suggestion is to periodically check their website to see if the requirements have changed. They won't notify you if they do - I had to scrounge around for another couple translations at the last minute because that didn't occur to me until the week before my appt.

[Anglmart]

Thanks for the tip! I'll have to see if the Chicago consulate does any mail-in appts, since I am not in IL. My brother will have to go in person since he's only 30 mins from the SF consulate. I guess that's a good thing.
Thanks