By GEORGE GEDDA
 Associated Press Writer

 WASHINGTON -- (AP) -- Elian Gonzalez's father will fly to the United States on
 Thursday to seek custody of his son, the 6-year-old Cuban boy who has been the
 subject of an international tug-of-war for the past four months, his lawyer said.

 ``It is time for this reunion to go forward,'' said attorney Gregory Craig, who met
 earlier Wednesday in Havana with the elder Gonzalez and Cuban officials.

 Craig said Gonzalez ``is prepared to stay here until he has achieved that objective.''

 Juan Miguel Gonzalez, the father, had said he would not travel to the United States
 until he received assurances that custody of Elian would be transferred from the boy's
 great-uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez, who has cared for him since he was survived a boat
 sinking last Thanksgiving in which his mother died.

 The Immigration and Naturalization Service issued a statement Monday that said,
 ``Once Mr. Gonzalez arrives in the United States, the INS will begin transferring
 care from Lazaro Gonzalez to the boy's father.''

 Craig said Wednesday night, ``We take this statement from the INS to mean and
 be an assurance that when Juan Miguel comes to the United States tomorrow, the
 process for transferring to him, the care and custody of his son Elian will be given
 immediately begin.''

 Elian's Miami relatives are fighting for permanent custody, opposing any move to
 return the boy to Cuba. They have appealed a ruling that says he should be
 returned to his father, and Cuban-American protesters have threatened to form a
 human chain around the Miami home where Elian is staying to prevent him from
 being sent back to Cuba.

 They have challenged Elian's father to come to their home to discuss Elian's
 future.

 But rather than flying to Miami, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, his wife and their infant
 son will travel Thursday to Washington. U.S. visas for the three, along with a male
 cousin, a pediatrician and a kindergarten teacher, were issued Tuesday.

 Cuban officials had also requested visas for 22 others, including 12 children who
 were classmates of Elian in Cuba. The State Department is still reviewing those
 requests.

 Negotiations to determine how best to transfer temporary custody to Elian's father
 were scheduled to resume Thursday morning.

 ``Even as Elian lost the love and companionship of his mother when she died last
 November, Juan Miguel has lost the love and companionship of his 6-year-old son
 for four long months,'' Craig told reporters gathered at his downtown law office.
 ``The first tragedy cannot be reversed. The second tragedy can and will be ended.
 We look to the attorney general and to the commissioner of INS to take
 immediate action aimed at reunited Elian with his father.''

 In Miami, anti-Castro activists protested outside Attorney General Janet Reno's
 Florida home, carrying signs depicting her as the devil.

 ``My message here is to give freedom to Elian,'' said one of the protesters,
 Barbara Nunez. Reno was not in Florida.

 And in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood, another group of demonstrators
 maintained a vigil outside the home of Elian's great-uncle, Lazaro, who has had
 temporary custody of the boy.

 If Juan Miguel Gonzalez had come to the United States, the Immigration and
 Naturalization Service was prepared to transfer temporary custody of the boy from
 the great-uncle to the father. But details of the transfer could not be worked out
 during two days of negotiations in Miami between lawyers for the government and
 for Elian's Miami relatives.

 After a recess Wednesday, the talks were expected to resume on Thursday.

 In addition the immediate family, the State Department approved visas for Elian's
 pediatrician, his kindergarten teacher and a male cousin with whom Elian has
 been close.

 But Cuban President Fidel Castro said that for Elian to achieve ``recovery'' after
 four months away from home, visas were being sought for the 22 others, including
 psychologists, a doctor and a senior Cuban official, in addition to Elian's
 classmates.

 Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Wednesday the six were approved
 because ``they were the immediate group. She said it ``seemed like a group that
 would serve a purpose for Elian.''

 The six were to have stayed at the home of Cuba's chief diplomat in Washington,
 Fernando Remirez. Classes were to be held for Elian and his 12 classmates at
 the Remirez home until his fate was decided.

 His case is before a federal appeals court in Miami, which will begin hearing
 arguments on the case next month.

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald