If they met the first standards, undocumented immigrants would get in line behind green card applicants already pursuing legal residency. They would then have to learn English and U.S. civics, show a record of past and current employment, and pass another background check.

The plan has a significant new element that was not part of the 2007 initiative: undocumented farmworkers who “have been performing very important and difficult work to maintain America’s food supply while earning subsistence wages” could earn a path to citizenship through a different and presumably more lenient visa process for agricultural workers.

And the new package would enact most of the long-stalled DREAM Act by providing less onerous requirements for the children of illegal immigrants.

Obama last year enacted parts of the DREAM Act via executive orders, offering deferments on deportation to young adult immigrants and angering Republicans who viewed the measures as political maneuvers aimed at drawing Hispanic voters.

The senators’ plan also would beef up enforcement with more border agents, increased use of drones and other surveillance equipment and completion of an entry-exit system to track visa holders better. And it would set up a commission of governors, attorneys general and community leaders from border states.

Obama met Monday with leaders of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to brief them on his own plan.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the eight senators’ proposal contains “principles that mirror the president’s blueprint.”

In another sign of potential bipartisan progress, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who will host Obama on Tuesday, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky each responded positively to the bipartisan plan from their colleagues.

Even if the new overhaul package gets through the Senate, it will pass a major challenge in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where conservative Republicans have blocked major bills that have passed the Senate.

House Speaker John Boehner recently said that the House should take up immigration reform, but Rep. Lamar Smith, an influential Republican from the key border state of Texas, criticized the eight senators’ bipartisan plan.

“By granting amnesty, the Senate proposal actually compounds the problem by encouraging more illegal immigration,” Smith said.

A broad range of Hispanic groups and pro-immigration advocacy organizations greeted the plan with enthusiasm.

“It is a new day for immigration,” said Janet Murguia, head of the National Council of La Raza, a leading Hispanic group. “This is an incredibly promising sign that policymakers have turned a corner on immigration and are ready to work together on the reform our nation needs and the American people want.”

But the top lobbyist for NumbersUSA, which works to reduce immigration levels, criticized the eight senators’ proposal.

“In the race to out-amnesty Obama, the Gang of Eight today rehashed the failed amnesty plan from six years ago,” said Rosemary Jenks, director of government relations for the group.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers were among the business groups lining up behind the plan.

Lesley Clark contributed from Washington; Anita Kumar contributed from Las Vegas.