WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Dominican nun who has taken up the cause
                  of Elian Gonzalez is set to return to Washington on Wednesday to continue
                  her effort to have him made a U.S. citizen so he can remain in the United
                  States.

                  Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin, president of Barry University in Miami Shores,
                  Florida, is heading back to Washington for the second time in two weeks to
                  lobby politicians to grant the 6-year-old Cuban boy citizenship.

                  Before Congress reconvened last month, sponsors of the citizenship
                  proposal were hoping to get quick action on the bill.

                  Lawmakers back off fast track for citizenship

                  However, after the boys grandmothers' Miami visit with their grandson last
                  week, Republican leaders in the House and Senate announced the bill would
                  not be put on a fast track, and it was sent to respective congressional
                  committees for consideration.

                  Last Thursday, one day after O'Laughlin hosted a meeting between the
                  youngster and his two Cuban grandmothers, she traveled to Washington and
                  met with Florida's two U.S. senators, Republican Connie Mack and
                  Democrat Bob Graham, who support citizenship.

                  O'Laughlin also met with Attorney General Janet Reno and Immigration and
                  Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner, but she failed to sway
                  them from their decision that Elian and his father should be reunited in Cuba.

                  Attorneys, citizenship proponent plan strategy

                  Attorneys representing the boy's Miami relatives, with whom he is staying,
                  briefed congressional staff members Tuesday on their strategy for keeping
                  him in the United States.

                  The three lawyers, Joe Begosian, Eduardo Rasco and Roger Bernstein, met
                  with House staff members in an hourlong session organized by Rep. Iliana
                  Ros-Lehtinen, R-Florida, a leading proponent of a bill to grant American
                  citizenship to Elian.

                  "I think there's a lot of misinformation about the Elian Gonzalez case, and it's
                  important for the members to have a legal viewpoint of what the status of the
                  case is," Ros-Lehtinen said.

                  The Miami congresswoman portrayed the fate of the boy as a custody battle
                  -- not what she described as a "very legalistic" administrative procedure by
                  U.S. immigration officials, who have ruled the boy should be reunited with
                  his father in Cuba.

                  Relatives challenge denied bid for asylum

                  Elian's Miami relatives are challenging a ruling that denied the bid for asylum
                  that they had filed for Elian. The relatives believe his mother's ill-fated
                  trip from Cuba to the United States was a bid to flee political persecution
                  by the communist government of Fidel Castro.

                  The November voyage ended in tragedy when the small boat with 14 people
                  on board capsized off the Florida coast. Elian and two other people were
                  the only survivors. His mother was among those who drowned.

                  A Miami federal judge has scheduled a February 22 hearing to determine
                  whether U.S. District Court has jurisdiction in the case.

                  Nun, some lawmakers disagree over jurisdiction

                  O'Laughlin has suggested Elian should remain in the United States, fearing
                  further trauma if he were to be broken from a bond O'Laughlin believes he
                  has formed with his cousin, Maryslesis Gonzalez.

                  Lawmakers who say the father has the only legitimate claim on the boy,
                  including Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Connecticut, expressed skepticism about
                  O'Laughlin's view, saying it would be impossible to draw such a conclusion
                  from the brief time she has been involved with the youngster's family.

                  Aides to lawmakers pushing the citizenship bill say O'Laughlin will meet with
                  several U.S. senators between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. One staff aide said
                  she will spend next week lobbying members of the House.