Sorassa Soeur came to America from refugee camp. Now she helps immigrants become citizens.

DOVER — Sorassa Soeur said she came to America as a "daughter of war" after fleeing Cambodia to a refugee camp in Thailand as a young child, going on to build a life as a salon owner in New Hampshire.

Now she has decided to focus on helping other immigrants become United States citizens and pursue their own dreams. She has been doing this for years, but is now making it her primary focus, starting a venture called Becoming a Citizen.

"For the past decade, I have been working with people from all over the world and helping them get their naturalization and citizenship in America," she said. "Their story is mine as well. Next month my mother will be a citizen of the United States of America after being here for 34 years."

Soeur, a Dover resident, has sold Salon No. 5 in Portsmouth, the fifth salon she owned in the city over 18 years, starting at age 25. It is now under new ownership, she said.

"I am passing on the baton," she said. "The clients are my greatest gratitude, and they bring so much joy and great energy."

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Soeur said she will still work a few days a week, under the new ownership, because she loves styling hair for her clients, but she wants to have more time to spend with family and friends, and she wants to have the time to succeed with Becoming a Citizen.

"As a daughter of war, it brings tears to my eyes to have witnessed this, because there can be a beautiful ending to any story," she said. "My mother and I are survivors of war. Like so many others like her, they need guidance and encouragement to start their naturalization process."

She became a U.S. citizen in 2003.

How Soeur helps those pursuing citizenship

Soeur said she has three goals for her clients, who are charged, she said, $500 for help throughout the naturalization process.

First, she determines if the person is eligible to become a U.S. citizen and then helps them prepare the N-400 application for naturalization and pay fees.

Next, she helps clients with their biometrics appointment with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, where applicants confirm their identity through a process that includes a photo and fingerprints. She also helps them with understanding the interview process. An English study session is available, along with a U.S. history study guide.

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Finally Becoming a Citizen will support their client as they receive a decision from USCIS on form N-400, through their notice to take the Oath of Allegiance, as well as understanding U.S. citizenship.

She said the $500 fee includes "Filing the application, correspondence that is required during the entire process, preparation for the verbal test, 100 U.S history questions if applicable," Soeur said. "Anyone who is over 55 years old does not have to do the verbal history test."

Mimi Latsamy is one client who was helped by Soeur, and she was pleased with the support.

“You can’t separate peace and freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom," she said, explaining why U.S. citizenship is important to her.

"It can be an intimidating process," Soeur said. "It takes time and there is a lot of paperwork. "My mother (Noun Oeum) is retiring and would like to return to Cambodia to visit her home country. It's been 34 years and so I told her it was time to get naturalized and that I will help her. We started the process five months ago."

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Mareth Soeur, Sorassa's father, became a citizen in 2014, with her help.

Sorassa Souer said she knows there are many people who want to become U.S. citizens but do not know how to go about it.

"After a person has lived here for five years, they can apply to begin the naturalization process," she said. "Without this step people cannot vote or apply for government jobs. But filling out the forms can be intimidating. ... They will need to take a U.S. history test. If they pass that, they get a notice for an interview. They will need to pass a background test and then swear allegiance to this county. It's a lot to navigate."

Soeur spent the first seven years of her life in a refugee camp in Thailand, which, she said opened after the Vietnam War. Her family had escaped Cambodia, she said, and survived harrowing incidents to eventually to make their way to America, before the youngest of her four siblings was born at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover.

At first, they were hosted by the congregation of the First Parish Federated Church in South Berwick, Maine.

"There are so many stories like our family's," Soeur said. "I am excited about being able to help them find their way to naturalization."

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Dover resident sells salon, helps immigrants become citizens