More than 225 would-be Americans, whether speaking Hmong, Russian or Spanish, lined up Saturday thinking some version of the same thing – the application to become a citizen is dreadfully complicated.

They were at a citizenship fair at Pannell Meadowview Community Center on Saturday that featured 70 trained volunteers who sat behind long tables and went over the 10-page application. In another room, lawyers working for free handled more involved questions.

The application fee for citizenship is $595, up from $330 in 2007. There also is an $85 fee for processing fingerprints.

"That is a big problem," said Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, of the costs. "It's unfortunate the federal government has erected that barrier."

Jones' office hosted the fair, which was bustling with energy as folks pulled out paperwork and IDs, rifled through pocketbooks and thumbed through files, asking questions and concentrating on the answers.

There were tables for people speaking Russian, Spanish, Hmong, Mien, Tongan, Samoan, English and other languages.

Looking out across the packed auditorium, Jones, whose ancestors are a mix of Welsh, Czech, French and English, said, "This reminds me that America is a nation of immigrants. It's what makes this country so incredibly strong and productive."

If only those present could have known that the young volunteer showing them the way at the front door could serve as a model of immigration success.

Born in San Jose 18 years ago this November, Vinh Bui is the son of a woman who came to the United States from Vietnam seeking a new life. Bui seized every opportunity. Not only was he class president, Senior Ball prince and valedictorian with a 4.67 grade-point average (out of 4.0) at Franklin High School in Elk Grove, he is heading to Stanford University on a prestigious Gates Millennium scholarship, meaning all of his expenses will be paid.

Bui has so many options, in fact, that he hasn't decided exactly what he wants to do for a career – something in engineering, he figures.

Asked what choices he would have had as a young man in Vietnam, Bui shrugged and said, "It would be extremely different. Opportunities are minimal, if at all."

Inside the community center, Josefina Tovar, 33, was asking questions about her application. She would like her children to be like Bui. A single parent from Mexico, Tovar is a legal resident working as a custodian.

"It's very important for me to become a citizen because I want to vote," she said. "I came to this country because I wanted a better life than in Mexico for me and my kids."

When she becomes a citizen, she hopes to land a better job.

"I want to be a mailman – I mean, a mail girl," she said, with a chuckle.

Her oldest daughter has decided, at age 14, that she wants to be a lawyer; 12-year-old Sylvia, who accompanied her mother to the citizenship fair, is planning to be a doctor.

"I want to help people," she said as her mother thanked the volunteer for answering her questions.

Throughout the day, longtime volunteer Igor Zubor was helping any way he could, making sure the fair ran without a hitch.

Zubor, 44, came to the United States from the former Soviet Union in 1992 and hired a tutor to learn English. Now a citizen, he has been volunteering in similar citizenship fairs since 2000.

Of the application for citizenship, Zubor frowned and said, "It's really complicated. It's actually unbelievably hard to go through this process."

In a smaller room, immigration lawyers Michael Considine and Johnny Walker were among those dealing with more challenging issues.

Those who submit their applications and pass a test for language, civics and history can expect to become U.S. citizens in about six months.

Call The Bee's Blair Anthony Robertson, (916) 321-1099.