By LIZETTE ALVAREZ

          WASHINGTON, April 27 -- In a mixed decision in the Elián
          González case, a federal appeals court today put off a request
          by the boy's father to serve as his sole legal representative, which would
          have effectively ended the court challenge.

          But, in a blow to the boy's relatives in Miami, the court also denied the
          relatives' request for regular visits with the 6-year-old Cuban boy, and
          dismissed their request for the appointment of a neutral guardian.
          Instead, a psychiatrist and a social worker, both appointed by the federal
          government, will monitor the boy and send the court biweekly reports on his
          condition and care, an arrangement first suggested by the government.

          The three-judge panel also ruled that Elián's father, Juan Miguel González, has
          the right to intervene in the battle over whether his son goes back to Cuba or
          stays here.

          By offering the twin rulings, the court made two points clear: It does not want
          to dismiss the case before it has a full hearing on May 11, and it does not want
          Lázaro González, the boy's great-uncle in Miami, to overstep his authority.

          "It was obvious that Craig attempted to get into the ballgame," said Richard
          Sharpstein, a lawyer for the Miami relatives, referring to Gregory B. Craig,
          who represents Juan Miguel González. "But he also wanted to take the
          ball and go home, and the court said no. At this time, they will defer on that."

          The greater legal question surrounding the case -- whether Elián has a
          right to apply for asylum on his own or whether his father speaks for him
          -- will be presented before the United States Court of Appeals for the
          11th Circuit, in Atlanta, at the May 11 hearing.

          Legal experts offered mixed interpretations of today's ruling on the
          challenge brought by Lázaro González. Some said the ruling denying Mr.
          González's request for a neutral guardian and regular visitation did not
          bode well for his case.

          "I think it's kind of the death knell for Lázaro González for a couple of
          reasons," said Michael Maggio, an immigration lawyer in Washington.
          "By refusing to appoint a guardian, the court is beginning to foreshadow
          that there is no standing in this case for Lázaro González."

          But others said that the ruling did not bear directly on the substance of
          the case, and presaged little about the end result.

          "By itself, it does not answer any of the questions that are pending," said
          Elliott Lichtman, an immigration lawyer in Washington.

          In its ruling, the appellate court panel said it was "hesitant" to grant Juan
          Miguel González the right to intervene in the case at this late date, but
          agreed to the request because he was the boy's father. One of the three
          judges dissented, arguing that the request came too late and that the
          Immigration and Naturalization Service "adequately represents" Juan
          Miguel González's interests.

          The court also said it would be "premature" to decide whether the boy's
          father should serve as Elián's sole representative. That motion, the judges
          ruled, will be wrapped into the overall case.

          With Elián cocooned at the Wye River estate in Maryland, along with his
          father, stepmother and infant half-brother, four of the boy's kindergarten
          classmates arrived today at Dulles International Airport on a private
          plane to join him. Elián is not permitted to leave the country until the
          appellate court rules on his great-uncle's claim.

          In a gesture underscoring Havana's interest in both the case and Elián, the
          Cuban president, Fidel Castro, bid the four children goodbye just before
          they climbed aboard the jet bound from Havana to Washington, the
          Reuters news service reported. A pediatrician and the mothers of three
          of the children accompanied them on their voyage, and one child's father
          is scheduled to follow.

          The entourage arrived today waving Cuban flags, on the heels of two
          other visitors, Elián's cousin and his kindergarten teacher.

          Tonight, a Cuban government communiqué said that a doctor traveling
          with the schoolchildren had medication confiscated by customs officials,
          and that Cuban officials in Washington had sent a protest letter to
          President Clinton and the immigration service.

          With the Senate scheduled to hold a hearing next Wednesday on the raid
          by armed federal agents who removed Elián from the home in Little
          Havana where he was staying with his Miami relatives, Attorney General
          Janet Reno again defended her decision to order the predawn Saturday
          raid.

          The Justice Department also supplied figures on how much the Elián case
          has cost the department.

          The case has cost more than $578,000 since Thanksgiving Day, when
          Elián was picked up in the Atlantic, the department said. The preliminary
          figures do not include costs for Elián's four-day stay at Andrews Air
          Force Base in Maryland.

          Ms. Reno, who grew teary-eyed during the weekly news conference,
          tried to bolster her decision by suggesting that the heavily armed agents
          faced a hostile crowd.

          One immigration agent, Betty Mills, who rushed Elián into a waiting van,
          was nearly thrown to the ground as she approached the house, Ms. Reno
          said, and someone inside the house locked the front door and then slid a
          couch in front of it. The agents had no choice but to ram through the front
          door, she added.

          Had she not acted on Saturday before dawn, word of the raid would
          have spread, Ms. Reno said, and the opportunity would have been lost.

          "They thought they could ignore us, and we had tried to be very patient
          with them to effect a voluntary transfer, and then the time comes and the
          law must be enforced," she said.

          The relatives in Miami and their supporters have provided sharply
          different accounts of the raid, saying armed agents barreled through the
          door without announcing themselves, sprayed pepper gas on bystanders
          and held others inside the house at gunpoint while they seized Elián.

          Eager to sort out the various descriptions of the raid and question its
          legality, the Senate Judiciary Committee is likely to call Ms. Reno to
          testify, along with a group of civic leaders who were involved in
          last-minute negotiations with the attorney general.

          In Miami today, Mayor Joseph Carollo fired the city manager, Donald
          Warshaw, who refused to dismiss the Miami police chief for not warning
          the mayor about the raid.

          The police chief, William O'Brien, learned of the raid just before it
          happened but did not inform the mayor, who had made it clear that he
          sided with the boy's Miami relatives in defiance of federal officials.

          Mr. Carollo said he had lost all confidence in his police chief, but Mr.
          Warshaw balked at carrying out his wishes.

          The mayor added, however, that he did not fire Mr. Warshaw because
          of the Elián raid, but because he had been saying bad things about him to
          others in City Hall.