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Cuban Boy's Father Applies to Come to U.S.The father of the six-year-old Cuban boy, Elian Gonzalez, has applied for a visa to travel to the United States from Cuba to regain custody of his son, the father's lawyer in the U.S. announced Thursday.In a statement, Attorney Gregory Craig said that he submitted the visa application on behalf of Juan Miguel Gonzalez, his wife and other family members. "We have also informed the appropriate authorities in the U.S. government that Mr. Gonzalez is willing to bring his family to the United States and to remain here during whatever time it takes to complete the appeals process," the attorney said. However, Gonzalez must have assurances that he will have custody of Elian during that time, Craig added. "The time has come for the INS to give Juan Miguel those assurances." Craig urged the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service ( INS) to give those assurances today, and to make arrangements with the State Department to permit Gonzalez and his family to enter the United States at the earliest possible moment. "The only person that has the legal and moral authority to speak for Elian Gonzalez is his father," Craig told reporters. Late Wednesday, the INS delayed the deadline for the revocation of Elian's temporary residency status 24 hours until 9 a.m. Friday. Craig also strongly criticized Elian's Miami relatives of exploiting the boy's case in the media. "The circumstances that now surround Elian's life in Miami, including the decision to allow camera crews into Elian's bedroom, the decision to permit a network news program to film a two-day interview with Elian without the father's permission, and the decision just last night to parade Elian in front of demonstrators in the streets of Miami, make it clear that Elian's best interests lie with his father," Craig said. Early this year, the INS ruled that the boy belong to his father in Cuba and should be returned to Cuba. However, the boy's relatives in Miami insisted the boy stay with them in the U.S. and filed a political asylum for the boy. A district judge ruled earlier this month that the Justice Department has the only right in the case and the INS decision to return the boy should be respected. Elian's relatives then vowed to appeal. As the INS resumed discussion with the family over where the boy should go, the Cuban-Americans are preparing a large protest and the authorities feared that there might be an unrest in Miami. Elian, who is currently under the custody of his great uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez, in Florida, was rescued on November 25 last year from a shipwreck after his mother and 11 others died when the boat capsized in the sea off Florida.
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