A pending case does not itself authorize the spouse’s work in the United States.
Plan the setup using actual permission
Qualifying E spouses may work incident to appropriate status with required evidence. Do not assume that installation becomes permissible merely because it is unpaid or occurs before opening.
The spouse of a principal E-2 investor is admitted in derivative E-2 status and is treated as authorized to work for any employer, including the enterprise, without needing a separate employment authorization document. If instead the spouse would help run the business, decide early whether that is as an owner or an employee, because ownership affects the nationality and control analysis of the enterprise itself. The dependent spouse is employment-authorised by virtue of that status, so a spouse who wants outside work is free to take it, subject to whatever licensing the occupation requires. Discuss any independent employment the spouse plans to pursue and the children's future status questions before assuming a particular household income. A spouse’s proposed job should be assessed in light of valid work-authorizing status and practical job availability, not assumed solely because the principal applied for E-2. Where a spouse or an adult child is expected to work in the business, identify the status each of them will actually hold and what it authorizes, then check the document issued to that person rather than the plan discussed at home.