CHICAGO - Illinois' Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-04) and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan (R-01) were in Chicago Monday, preparing the way for a bi-partisan comprehensive immigration reform plan. Gutierrez has said their plan will be "moderate" compared to the Senate's Gang of 8 plan. Some for the the agreement are beginning to emerge through Washington sources. They're reporting the House compromise plan:
- Nearly doubles the maximum number of guest-worker visas, which was set at 200,000 in the Senate bill.
- Makes the minimum number of years it would take an person living in the U.S. illegally to gain citizenship 15 in the House bill, compared to 13 years in the Senate measure.
- Creates a decade-long provisional legal status for illegal immigrants to work in the U.S., pay back taxes and learn English while the government works to meet benchmarks for securing the southern border. In the Senate bill, illegal immigrants given the provisional legal status must wait 10 years to obtain a green card for permanent status and then another three to apply for citizenship.
