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A White House plan devised in weeks of closed-door meetings with Republican senators would grant work visas to undocumented immigrants but require them to return home and pay hefty fines to become legal U.S. residents.

The draft immigration legislation is the first stab by the White House and Republican senators this year at addressing the presence of 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants living and working in the country and employers’ reliance on illegal workers.

The White House draft plan was circulating around Capitol Hill and among groups with an interest in immigration legislation after elements of it were leaked late Wednesday.

Under the plan, undocumented workers could apply for three-year work visas, which the plan dubs “Z” visas. They would be renewable indefinitely but renewal would cost $3,500 each time.

The undocumented workers would have legal status with the visas, but to get a green card, making them legal permanent residents, they’d have to return to their home country, apply at a U.S. embassy or consulate to re-enter legally and pay a $10,000 fine.

The plan also tries to make border security a priority by requiring 18,300 Border Patrol agents and 370 miles of physical fencing be in place, as well as electronic monitoring of the southern border ongoing before a temporary worker program could start.

The plan is far more conservative than the one the Senate approved last year with bipartisan backing and support from President Bush. That plan, whose principal architects were Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., allowed illegal immigrants to stay in the U.S., work and apply to become legal residents after learning English, paying fines and back taxes and clearing a background check.

Critics dismissed that bill as an amnesty.

Supporters of immigration reform say the draft plan shows the White House is serious about getting a bill completed this year. But immigration advocates were disappointed with the product and see it as a step backward.

“For us it’s a no go,” said Angela Kelley, deputy director of the advocacy group National Immigration Forum.

The plan goes too far for some conservatives.

“Offering illegal immigrants guaranteed long-term and legal status will send the wrong message to the millions of people around the world looking to come to the United States,” said Rep. Brian Bilbray, a California Republican who heads the House Immigration Reform Caucus. The caucus supports tougher immigration laws.

A plan to make more green cards available to skilled workers by limiting visas for parents, children and siblings of U.S. citizens and one that would prohibit temporary workers from bringing family members is one of the plan’s more controversial provisions.

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