ebbrooky

I've been reading through this forum and would like to share my experience.
I was born and raised in Germany and moved to America in 1985. I'm married to an American, and my children have both US and German Citizenship. I needed to become an American citizen because my job required that I have US Citizenship to work on certain things. I made an appointment with the Consulate in NYC in Feb 2012, and at this appointment I was interviewed and turned in my application for Beibehaltungsgenehmigung. During the interview, they seemed most interested in verifying that I still speak German with a native tongue (my German is not perfect as I don't use it everyday, but I can still speak it). I provided them with the contacts of my family back in Germany (Father/siblings/grandparent), as well as explained that I return to Germany every year or two to visit. In May 2012, I received written notified in the mail that my Beibehaltungsgenehmigung was approved and given the instructions on how to wire payment to a bank in Germany so I could pick up the retention certificate. I setup a second appointment, and in early June 2012 I received the document.
I did not use an attorney, and I don't think one is required as long as you have a) family back in Germany or a significant tie to the homeland, b) speak German, and c)a valid reason for attaining American citizenship. All in all, I found the process to be fairly easy. Hope this helps all that are looking to apply. Tschuss!