The spouse needs appropriate status and employment-authorization evidence for the actual work.
Keep each person’s role separate
Qualifying L spouse status may carry work permission, but a pending case or shared familiarity with the product does not create it.
School enrolment is generally straightforward for dependants and is a separate matter from work authorization, though the two are often confused in the same conversation. The usual mistake is treating petition approval as proof that every relative already holds the correct status or may begin employment. Verify the spouse's current documentation and consider whether any independent employment route applies to them, rather than assuming a single rule covers every family member. Family terms are the same as L-1A — L-2 spouses are employment-authorized incident to status, children may study but not work — but the five-year ceiling changes the household's planning horizon. A launch-driven posting frequently runs longer than intended, and an extension is a fresh set of steps for every person holding permission through the principal, not an administrative renewal. For family matters, make the principal category decision independently of dependent plans, then record each person's age, status, and intended activity. Households that have seen that page stop making two characteristic errors: assuming the spouse inherits the principal's employer restriction, and assuming the spouse's position is independent of the principal's status.