Joining his Nebraska congressional colleagues in the search for solutions to U.S. immigration problems, U.S. Rep. Tom Osborne’s new bill would require illegal immigrants to briefly return home before coming back with new U.S. work visas.

His guest worker proposal wouldn’t lead to U.S. citizenship, but the new, so-called “W” visas could be renewed indefinitely.

“Particularly if you look at our ag sector, Nebraska would be in a world of trouble if we didn’t have a lot of these workers here,” said Osborne, who’s seeking the GOP gubernatorial nomination rather than a fourth House term.

U.S. Sens. Chuck Hagel and Ben Nelson of Nebraska also have introduced immigration measures.  Hagel's plan

Under what Osborne introduced last week as the Temporary Worker Registration and Visa Act of 2005, the immigrants would have to prove U.S. residence since Jan. 1 of this year, pay a registration fee and have a full-time job.

Spouses and children under 18 also would have to meet the requirements to stay, except for the employment provision.

Marty Ramirez, a Lincoln psychologist and Latino activist, finds a flaw in Osborne asking families to return to their native lands, however briefly.

“Why would they take that risk of losing everything?” he asked. “You have to understand how they perceive it. There is no guarantee in this law.”

Osborne said he was responding to citizen complaints that illegal immigrants should not be rewarded.

Under his bill, Osborne said, “Nobody’s able to be in the country unless they enter the country legally.”

The Bush administration outlined its guest worker initiative last week as well.

It would allow foreigners, including those in this country illegally, to work in the United States for up to six years if they pay fees.

Like Osborne’s bill, the Bush plan also would not provide a path to citizenship.

An estimated 10 million to 12 million illegal immigrants are believed to be in the United States, although no numbers are available on how many are of working age. An estimated 80,000 immigrants, legal and illegal, have arrived in Nebraska the past 15 years.

Nelson late last month disclosed plans for legislation intended to close America’s borders to illegal immigrants and crack down on businesses that hire them.

Among the Democrat’s suggestions were increasing the number of border agents by 3,000 and the number of customs and border protection officers at U.S. points of entry by 1,200.

Nelson said he also wants to make immigration through legal channels more navigable by cutting red tape and hiring more agents to assist those trying to find a new life and home in the United States.