The controversial immigration overhaul, which is currently going through the US Congress, includes a guest worker programme designed to provide low-skilled foreign labour. Two-thirds of respondents said they supported the measure.

A slightly smaller 62 percent said illegal immigrants should be allowed to apply for legal status, while one-third said they should be deported.

The New York Times/CBS News poll also revealed sharp divisions over how open the United States should be to future immigration and mixed feelings over whether recent waves of immigration have benefited the country.

While 57 percent of respondents said recent immigrants had made a contribution to the United States, 35 percent said that new immigrants would harm US society in the long run. Only 28 percent said they would improve it.

The poll also found that half of respondents were ready to transform the process for selecting new immigrants as proposed in the bill -- giving priority to job skills and education levels over family ties to the United States.

The immigration bill is being put forward by President George W Bush and a senators from both Democratic and Republican parties.

It would notably allow illegal immigrants who were in the United States before January 1 this year to obtain legal status and begin a path to citizenship by paying fines and undergoing background checks.

The bill also foresees stronger borders, a crackdown on employers who hire illegal immigrants and wiping out a backlog of visa applications from those who have gone through legal immigration channels.

Conservatives have attacked the plan as an "amnesty" for law-breakers, while Democrat senators have criticised the guest worker plan as not providing a path to citizenship and risking the creation of an underclass.

The telephone survey questioned 1,125 people from last Friday through Wednesday.