When I was undergoing the process to be called to the New York Bar, I found myself thinking the documentary requirements to be rather a pain - not that it was unnecessary (I mean, they DO need to know if you have a criminal record etc. :-), but that, well, "paperwork is a pain".
California wants more paper than New York.
California wants more paper than New York.
You'll be doing a lot of online submissions (everything's linked off the main California State Bar website), but you can't escape paper - e.g. for the Moral Character Determination Application, the preparation and "submission" is online - but then you still have to print it out and post it in :-)
For foreign applicants, there's a requirement to send in your fingerprints on special cards. You need to write in for them to send you the cards - it's possible to find PDFs of the cards online, but it's not acceptable to print them out yourself on any random piece of paper and put your fingerprints on them. Further, you can't just do it on your own, you must find local law enforcement to fingerprint you, and attest to doing so, on the cards.
Basically, all of the above Needs A Lot Of Time.
Be aware that all "communications" from the state bar will be in writing, via snail mail.
Not email, not text messaging, not website announcements.
Every single step of the way will be acknowledged by a letter. You applied? You get a letter. They are proceeding to consider your eligibility? You'll get a letter. They've decided on your eligibility? You'll get a letter. They've decided the requirements are unmet? You'll get a letter. They've received anything from, or about you? You'll get a letter. They're going to do X with your requirement Y? You'll get a letter. And then they did X with your requirement Y as they said they were going to do? You'll get a letter.
This is important.
I've a friend (no names here :-) who decided he/she didn't actually need to prep for the MPRE, and presumably this Certain Someone spent all the time (that I was promised would be spent reading the one, single, thin, can-be-completed-in-half-a-day,one-day-tops MPRE book) ... in the University Ave Starbucks frolicking with cute/hunky Stanford swim-team members ... and as a result, fell a few points short of the CA requirements for the MPRE score the first time round.
Well, a letter saying that the MPRE needs to be retaken was duly received - and said MPRE was retaken, successfully this time.
There was no letter received about the successful MPRE
It had been assumed that All Was Right In The World ... but it was not. The Office of Admissions had no record of the successful exam, and this was only found out when the Calbar itself was taken successfully - and a letter saying that all requirements were met except the MPRE one. This threatened to delay Certain Someone's call to the bar. Not good.
So: if anything involving your "status" has changed, and you don't get written acknowledgement within a week or so - check the website, and if that doesn't indicate anything, then Something Has Gone Wrong.
UPDATE - WARNING:
there's a further complication in that I have had mail from the CA bar (as well as office of admissions) never arrive, I presume due to the vagaries of international mail delivery. This really tripped me up in one respect - after my admission, they sent out a letter requiring payment of my dues. I never received it. The only letter I received was the letter admonishing me for late payment of dues - and tacking on an extra $50 fee. It was not possible to have this waived (it was also kind of teeth-grinding to have them respond to my query with phrases like "which you claim not to have received" :-/ ), even though the original, physical letter is necessary to pay the dues, even for online payment - there is an "access code" printed on the letter, without which you would be unable to get on to the restricted part of the website.
I find calling CA offices difficult, because being in the GMT +8 time zone, office hours in CA correspond to approximately midnight to 8 am locally, which limits my ability to keep redialling; and the apparently "preferred" method of voice communications ("leave a number in voicemail and we'll call back") does not work because they will not call back for international numbers. I suspect the numbers of "foreign" applicants/state bar members are small enough (as compared to New York) that they've not really considered any difficulties we may face.
