Immigration reform now seems likely. The question now is what kind of reform. One that provides a simple and straightforward path to U.S. citizenship for undocumented workers or one that makes them wait years and years for permanent legal status? Expect the debate to start in earnest in January.

For now, immigrants’ rights advocates are happy that some relief for undocumented immigrants is on the way. The Obama victory and the high Latino vote he earned, makes reform difficult to stop. Even Republican John Boehner, the speaker of the House, and conservative talkshow host Sean Hannity, now say they support reform. Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsay Graham are back on board. And polls show that voters support legalizing undocumented immigrants.

The Latino vote in the Presidential election advanced the cause, but the trend was already favorable. A sign that restrictionists had started their decline came with conservative Republican Sen. Marco Rubio’s support for Dream Act legislation. Though Rubio’s proposal provided undocumented youth fewer benefits than prior proposals, his announcement helped force Democrats’ hand. Just weeks later, President Obama announced his program to grant Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Even Mitt Romney called for legal status for undocumented youth. Now, with the election out of the way, immigration reform is on the table and could come as early as next year.

For reform to make sense, however, it must include a straight road to U.S. citizenship for undocumented immigrants, special consideration for undocumented youth, more visas for unifying families and for admitting high-tech professionals.

Unfortunately, some in Congress will insist on restrictions on harsh punishments for newly arrived undocumented immigrants in exchange for legalizing undocumented immigrants. Some are calling for a constitutional amendment to end birthright citizenship. The road ahead has many twists and turns. Even liberal Congressional supporters are speaking of a path to citizenship that could take a decade or longer.

Advocates mustn’t wait for Congressional proposals. We need our own proposals, and a strategy for making them law.

What would a sensible reform bill look like? First, its legalization provision should be simple to understand, and easy for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to implement. The last legalization program, implemented by President Ronald Reagan, was way too complicated. Almost 25 years after the close of the last legalization filing period, USCIS is still considering applications based on that program.

Congress would do well to base the legalization program on existing legal concepts. The new legalization should grant two-year conditional residence, similar to that in some marriage and investment green card cases. Following the model for deferred action for undocumented youth, an individual could get conditional legal status by proving presence here on a certain date and a certain number of years prior to continuous residence. Time in conditional residence status should count toward the typical five years residence needed for U.S. citizenship. At the end of the two years, after an agency check to weed out criminals, the conditional resident could get the permanent card.

Dreamers, those with what USCIS calls Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, should get their status upgraded automatically to conditional residence.

Family reunification in the preference categories should be doubled from the annual 226,000. Under current law, family members of U.S. citizens can wait more than 20 years to join their family. That makes no sense.

In the employment area, we should return to providing an unlimited number of visas for temporary professional workers. That’s the H-1B category. Current law already guards against employers using foreign workers to depress the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers. For permanent residence based on employment, we should increase visa availability as well, particularly for workers in the STEM fields – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

Allan Wernick is an attorney and director of the City University of New York’s Citizenship Now! project. Send questions and comments to Allan Wernick, New York Daily News, 4 New York Plaza, N.Y., 10004 or email to questions@allanwernick.com. Follow him on Twitter @awernick.