A prior connection does not establish current work permission.
Check the actual family status
Qualifying L spouse status may carry employment authorization with required evidence. A pending case, informal familiarity or unpaid work is not an automatic basis to begin the proposed activity.
Family eligibility follows the principal’s valid L classification but requires its own factual review. Collect passports, marriage evidence, birth records, and evidence of each child’s age and marital status. A spouse admitted in L-2S status normally carries employment authorization with the proper documentation; children may study but do not gain that authorization. Do not assume that a spouse’s professional licence or a child’s school acceptance answers the immigration-status question. The first review should identify what each person will do, which document establishes the relationship, and whether any date creates a problem. This is especially important when a child is close to 21 or a couple plans to marry after the principal’s filing. The L-1B principal must independently show specialized knowledge, the required qualifying organization, and a continuous foreign employment year within the relevant three-year period; L-1B is generally subject to a five-year ceiling. Hypothetical example: a custom-ink manufacturer transfers its colour-matching specialist, whose spouse wants to take paid shifts in a gallery. The gallery’s offer and the spouse’s I-94 classification settle the work question. The principal’s training records may support the L-1B case, but they do not authorize the spouse to begin work before the dependent status is properly documented.