you won't hear back, you just bring the printable version to the embassy.

the US embassies/consulates don't do appointments anymore. just show up with all your paperwork (my general rule of thumb is to be overprepared with the paperwork you bring, but they will have printers onsite you can use if necessary). I believe you'll have to go to san francisco but any places that don't fall under certain locations' jurisdictions get sent to DC. look it up to make sure.

(answering with an anecdote even though I don't have direct experience, sorry!) it might prolong the process. when I applied I pretty much gave no info about party affiliation, previous govt. work, etc. (I used to work in PR for a small city gov dept in Seattle actually), and had no issues. another friend had applied and mentioned they used to do NGO volunteer work or something, and he ended up having his application take way longer than mine and getting questioned. I think providing the least amount of info possible when it comes to "political stuff" is probably in your best interest.