By REUTERS

          MIAMI -- The international furor over custody of a Cuban boy
          edged to the legal arena today from the political as Washington
          began proceedings that could send the boy home to Cuba and his
          relatives in the United States prepared a legal claim to keep him in this
          country.

          The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service sent a letter to
          Juan Miguel González in Cuba, spelling out what he could do to make his
          case for the return from Miami of his 6-year-old son, Elián.

          "It tells González he can provide us with information that we will consider
          in determining Elián's immigration status," said Dan Kane, an I.N.S.
          spokesman. The letter was a departure for the immigration service, which
          had said it would leave the issue of custody to the courts.

          Critics of the I.N.S. said it had allowed Elián's status to be politicized by
          Cuban exiles in the United States, who have battled to keep the boy in
          Miami and made him a symbol of their opposition to President Fidel
          Castro of Cuba.

          Washington has gradually shifted its stance. President Clinton said on
          Wednesday at a news conference that there was a legal process for
          determining what was best for the boy and that he felt sympathy for
          Elián's father.

          The boy's relatives here said on Wednesday that they were preparing to
          use the courts to keep him; they plan to seek official status as Elián's
          guardians, request an injunction preventing his return to Cuba and a
          formal request for political asylum in the United States.

          Elián has been at the center of a political tug-of-war between his father,
          who is backed by Cuba's Communist government, and his relatives in
          Miami since the boy was rescued on Nov. 25 after drifting for two days
          in the Atlantic. His mother, stepfather and nine others drowned in the
          crossing from Cuba.

          González says he wants Elián back, saying the boy was kidnapped by his
          mother. Thousands of Cubans have staged anti-American demonstrations
          to back his claim. The boy's Miami relatives say he should stay in
          Florida, where he would have a better life than in Cuba.

          Legal experts said it would be very difficult for Elián's relatives in Miami
          to claim guardianship of the boy successfully when his father was not
          abusive, had been involved in his life and wanted him back.