WASHINGTON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The United States would speed up processing visa applications from the grandmothers of Cuban shipwreck survivor Elian Gonzalez if they wanted to come to pick him up in Miami, a State Department official said on Tuesday.
On Monday night, U.S. officials in Havana and Cuban officials discussed possible visits to the United States by the grandmothers, at least one of whom has said she might come to collect 6-year-old Elian, who was rescued at sea in November after a migrant boat from Cuba capsized, drowning his
mother and 10 other Cubans.
Elian has been staying with relatives in Miami pending a resolution of the custody dispute between his Miami relatives and his family in Cuba, backed by the Cuban authorities.
``They (the grandmothers) have not yet applied for visas to the United States. Should they apply, we are prepared to expedite consideration of their applications in accordance with the relevant U.S. immigration laws,'' the U.S. official said.
The Cubans wanted assurances that the grandmothers would not become entangled in the U.S. legal system, but the U.S. officials could not provide them, he added.
Earlier this month, a Florida family court awarded temporary custody of Elian to his Miami relatives, complicating the federal government's decision to reunite him with his father in Cuba. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalisation Service has said it will ignore the court ruling.
In December, the United States offered to speed up the visa application process for Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, but the father said later he was not considering a trip to Miami.
18:02 01-18-00
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