Access to information does not provide US employment authorization.
Assess the spouse’s actual status
Qualifying L spouses may work incident to appropriate status with required evidence. Public knowledge, a pending case or unpaid participation is not itself permission to perform the work.
Record each family member's intended work or study and the relevant age and status dates, and verify the spouse's current status documentation rather than assuming one universal rule applies to every household. Federal immigration law does not, and the practical result is that a partner would have to look at a visitor route with all its limits, a status based on their own study or employment, or marriage. List the specialist, spouse, and children separately with relationship proof, ages, L-2 admission evidence, school arrangements, and proposed business involvement. If a spouse intends to work, ask for that route to be assessed on its own facts rather than treating employment authorisation as something the principal case delivers automatically. Dependent status in the L category is available to a legally recognised spouse and to unmarried children under 21, and a common-law or de facto partner does not qualify as a spouse. Eligible spouse and child plans require individual documentation; do not assume a travelling role removes any status or admission requirement. The translator should preserve the document’s original purpose and dates, rather than label a marriage record or the principal’s approval as the spouse’s work authorization.