Congress has been away from Washington for the past week and a half for its annual spring recess coinciding with Easter and Passover. But despite the legislative slowdown, a major milestone was reached this week in the ongoing immigration debate: the AFL-CIO and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reached an agreement in principle on a contentious part of a potential immigration overhaul.

The two organizations have been meeting behind closed doors over the past few months, at the request of the so-called "gang of eight" senators working to craft an immigration bill. The labor federation and the business community had been far apart on issues surrounding temporary visas for low-skilled workers, but appear to have reached agreement on the basics of a new type of visa program.

Under the agreement, employers wishing to hire foreign workers in industries such as hospitality, retail, or low-skilled construction, could hire workers on a new W visa, which would be permanent, and not tied to one employer. Workers also would be able to self-petition for a green card after a year of work.

The number of visas would initially be capped at 20,000 gradually increasing each year, but in no case would the cap rise above 200,000. A new government agency, the Bureau of Immigration and Labor Market Research, would also be created to determine where worker shortages existed and to set annual caps on the W visas.

The agreement was hailed by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), one of the leaders of the gang of eight, as the last policy issue to be resolved before a bill is introduced, and said introduction could come as soon as next week. While some Republican senators, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), have urged a slower approach, a bill is likely coming sometime soon.

But not everyone was happy with the deal. For example, Tamar Jacoby, of ImmigrationWorks USA, a group that represents small businesses on immigration matters, said she believed the agreement was a good start, but that it was "skewed by union demands," and that the initial caps on the number of W visa recipients would be too small. And, she said, the process used by the bureau to determine caps would be bureaucratic and unhelpful.

Unions, however, were generally supportive of the agreement, with the AFL-CIO saying on its blog that the new visa would "work for everyone, not just employers."

Still, the fight over the details of an immigration bill is far from over. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said the labor federation remains focused on a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the country and was just getting started on its lobbying efforts--an indication that the road to final passage of a bill is still a long one.