As a result, says Elizabeth Espin Stern, a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of law firm Baker and McKenzie, "we do not expect the bill to proceed separately from overall, comprehensive immigration reform."

Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, announced his intention to later this year. Onlookers expect Grassley and Durbin to tack the components of the bill (or something like it) to that broader legislation. And don't be surprised if some of the original bill's more hard line measures-like the 50/50 rule-get watered down or edited out entirely, says Shalabh Garg, director of offshore outsourcing consultancy neoIT.

There's just one colossal caveat: A legislative agenda packed with such thorny issues as healthcare, climate change, and regulation of the financial system may delay immigration reform efforts.

"With the ongoing political controversy about the topic-since that type of reform would have to address the 11 to 18 million undocumented workers in the country-we do not expect to see passage of the bill anytime soon," says Stern.