The role must be genuine and the spouse must have appropriate work permission before performing it.
Keep future staffing identifiable
Qualifying L spouses may work incident to appropriate status with required evidence. A pending case or family promise is not existing authorized support.
Confirm what duties, if any, the spouse will keep performing for the Canadian business and how, since ongoing Canadian employment or self-employment does not by itself affect L-2 eligibility but may raise separate tax or corporate questions. The practical step is to check what appears on each family member's admission record, because that notation is what an American employer will look for when a spouse applies for work. The practical error is promising a spouse a job or a child a school start date before matching those plans to the status that will be granted. Build a separate family timeline showing passports, relationships, intended travel, and each person's planned activity. The principal’s handoff or approval does not replace the individual status review; children receive no work permission solely through L dependent status. The principal’s management petition should accurately describe the staffing plan without assuming an accompanying relative is already authorized to fill it. Note as well that a spouse's ability to work in the L context is derivative of the principal's status, so the household's second income depends on the same unresolved question.