The plan must be genuine, and the spouse needs appropriate work permission for the actual activity.
Keep future support conditional
Qualifying L spouses may work incident to appropriate status with required evidence. A pending application should not be presented as existing operational capacity.
Review the relationship documentation for the specific spouse and children involved, and do not assume that other family members connected to the business gain any status through this filing. A spouse admitted in L-2 status may have employment authorization under the applicable federal framework, while children may study but do not gain a general right to work merely through dependent status. Confirm the spouse's current status documentation rather than assuming a document is automatically issued, and keep a child's study plans and any age-related questions under separate review from the spouse's work authorization. The spouse should keep their own admission record, passport and marriage certificate available for employer verification, since the principal’s approval notice is not the spouse’s work evidence. Marriage must be legally recognized for the spouse to hold derivative status at all, which is worth confirming for couples who have lived together for years without marrying.