Young immigrants have expressed enthusiasm for the policy, even though it won't help them attain citizenship or legal permanent residence.

WSJ: Immigration-Policy Details Emerge

Advocates are also concerned that the bill requires certain goals on border security to be met before anyone can get a green card qualifying them for legal permanent residence and ultimately citizenship, and some say that the path to citizenship takes too long.

NPR: Advocates Criticize Senate Immigration Bill

This is a wonderful visa to have: it offers permanent legal residence.

ECONOMIST: Please God, let me be an American | The

Just last week the White House said it was considering a task force proposal to allow the estimated 3 million Mexicans living illegally in the United States to achieve permanent legal residence through a guest-worker program.

CNN: Wallace

Any proposal to allow immigrants to obtain permanent legal residence through a guest-worker program, regardless of whether they are in the country illegally or came with temporary work visas, could, in the end, look a bit like some form of amnesty.

CNN: Wallace

But the legal costs and fees to sponsor skilled foreign nationals for temporary visas (thousands of dollars) and for permanent residence (typically tens of thousands of dollars) call into question any supposed cost advantage in hiring foreign nationals.

FORBES: Want to Attract Jobs and Capital? Change U.S. Tax and Immigration Laws