WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As senior U.S. immigration officials indicated
                  that a decision may come this week on the fate of 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez
                  -- the Cuban boy plucked from the sea in November -- a leader of the U.S.
                  National Council of Churches urged that the boy be returned to his father in
                  Cuba.

                  The Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, outgoing general secretary of the National
                  Council of Churches, met Monday with the father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez,
                  and then with the boy's grandparents.

                  She described the family as "loving" and said, "A child belongs with his family."

                  Meanwhile, a U.S. Immigration and Naturalization official hinted Monday
                  that the agency is closer to deciding where the boy should live since
                  re-interviewing the father Friday at the home of an unidentified non-U.S.
                  diplomat in Havana.

                  "We've now got all the information we need from the father," said INS
                  spokeswoman Maria Cardona. She said the follow-up interview completed
                  the information-gathering process.

                  Family or political issue?

                  Elian's mother and nine others drowned trying to reach the United States.
                  Juan Miguel Gonzalez was divorced but shared custody of his son. He has
                  denied knowing that his former wife was attempting to flee Cuba with the
                  boy.

                  Young Elian has been staying with a great-uncle and other family members in
                  Miami since his rescue off the Florida coast on Thanksgiving Day. They
                  want the boy to stay, arguing it was his mother's wish.

                  Attorney Spencer Eig, who represents the boy's interests on behalf of the
                  extended family in Miami, has filed a claim of political asylum on the boy's
                  behalf.

                  However, legal experts have said it would be extremely difficult to prove the
                  boy faces political persecution if returned to his father.

                  Juan Gonzalez said he asked Campbell to do all she could to have his son
                  returned to Cuba. Campbell promised she would. She described her
                  meeting Monday with the elder Gonzalez and the boy's grandparents as
                  "emotional."

                  Campbell said the issue of who the boy will live with is a "family issue," not a
                  political one.

                  The National Council of Churches has been a longtime opponent of the U.S.
                  embargo of Cuba.

                  'We're not going to rush to judgment'

                  The INS has no position on Campbell's meeting with Elian's family
                  in Cuba, INS spokesman Russ Bergeron said in Washington.

                  "We're going to pursue our decision based on our procedures and our
                  process and without any outside influences," Bergeron told CNN.

                  Attorneys for the boy's family in Miami have argued the INS is taking far too
                  long to decide, not only on the boy's status, but also whether the boy's
                  great-uncle has a legal right to speak for the boy.

                  But on Monday, the INS defended its decision to meet privately again with
                  the father Friday in Cuba. "Given the complexities and different legal
                  opinions under review ... we're not going to rush to judgment," Bergeron
                  said.

                  Boy wants father to come to U.S.

                  Lawyers for Elian's Miami relatives also contend the boy's father cannot
                  speak freely as long as he is in Cuba, and they ask that he be brought to the
                  United States.

                  Eig likened Elian's father to a man with a gun to his head, saying of the INS
                  interviews there: "The situation is not one that is free of duress ... not likely to
                  yield the truth."

                  At a news conference in front of the federal courthouse in Miami, Eig told
                  reporters of Elian's preference: "He says that he would like to see his father
                  and his (father's) new baby here -- that he wants them to visit here.

                  Lawyer Roger Bernstein also says he wants the boy's father to come to the
                  United States so that he can be cross-examined during a political asylum
                  hearing about his wishes for his son.

                  INS officials plan to meet with Elian's Miami relatives January 21.

                  Family plans challenge if boy ordered back to Cuba

                  Despite widespread speculation -- and some government hints - - that the
                  INS has no legal basis for allowing the child to remain in the United States,
                  immigration officials insist the decision is not yet final.

                  Attorney General Janet Reno recently indicated she intends to have the final
                  word on the decision reached by her INS commissioner, Doris Meissner.

                  "INS is part of the Justice Department," Reno said in her most recent
                  comment on the case.

                  Because of widespread interest in the case, immigration officials are
                  considering making the formal announcement at a Washington news
                  conference.

                  If the INS announces plans to return Elian Gonzalez to his father, attorneys
                  for the boy's relatives in Florida are promising to challenge the ruling in
                  federal court.

                               Producer Terry Frieden contributed to this report.