Salvador Lazalde of Murray may have petitioned for his brother's immigration just in time.

Lazalde, a naturalized citizen from Mexico and director of Proyecto Paisano, filed a petition for his brother in 2001. Because of annual visa caps, Jose Luis Lazalde is now waiting in a long line. Legislation being considered by Congress would not negate the Lazalde petition but could create roadblocks for other families eager for reunification, said Salvador Lazalde.

"He's excited," Lazalde said. "All he has to do is wait his turn." His petition, at least, is already in process and would not fall victim to some of the provisions of legislation proposed this week, at least as currently written.

The comprehensive immigration plan, introduced Thursday in the U.S. Senate, could eliminate the family-relationship avenue for immigration altogether by removing some categories of family preferences, including siblings of citizens. Applications filed before May 1, 2005, would still be processed under the current law, giving the Lazaldes hope that they will still be reunited at some point.

On Monday, the Senate is expected to vote on whether to consider the bill, which requires 60 votes.

Much of the attention has focused on the "Z visa," which would put most of the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants on a fast track to legal status.

Sister Kathleen Moroney, an immigration attorney for Holy Cross Ministries, said that while there are still many unclear issues about the 1,000-page bill, the Z visa is the minor part.

"The major focus that came out of this compromise between Republicans and Democrats is we will take visas away from families and give them to workers, and 'deserving workers,' because it's going to be done on a merit system," she said.

As written, the bill would be the biggest immigration overhaul since the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, replacing a national-origins quota system with a system based primarily on the reunification of families.

While citizens and permanent residents would still be able to sponsor a spouse and minor children, it would eliminate most other forms of family-reunification visas, including adult children and siblings. It would also place a cap of 50,000 parents of citizens each year, a category that currently has no cap.

Instead, the proposed measure would create a new merit system, in which those applying for permanent residency would be assigned points for skills, education and other attributes such as English proficiency or specialty in a high-demand field, according to a White House statement on the bill.