The US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Tuesday ordered Elian Gonzalez's relatives in Florida to allow the boy to meet his grandmothers from Cuba.

The order was made in a letter to the lawyers for the boy's great uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez. The letter asked him to make Elian available Wednesday for a meeting with his grandmothers at a neutral site.

"In order to ensure that Elian has the chance to spend time alone with his grandmothers, the INS is obliged to direct Lazaro Gonzalez to make Elian available for a visit with his grandmotherson Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.," the letter said.

The letter was signed by Michael A. Pearson, executive associate immigration commissioner for field operations. The order came after Lazaro refused on Monday to agree to a meeting at any sight other than his own home, Pearson wrote.

On Tuesday, the boy's grandmothers also met a group of congressmen. "He belongs in Cuba. He was born in Cuba and he's a Cuban citizen," Mariela Quintana, the boy's paternal grandmother told reporters.