Future assistance cannot be represented as completed business activity, and the spouse needs actual work permission.
Keep staffing and status accurate
Qualifying L spouses may work incident to appropriate status with required evidence. A pending family case does not authorize work or establish a past operating history.
The employment authorization comes from the status itself rather than from a separate application, and current policy treats the admission record as evidence of it. Employment authorization incident to status is a meaningful practical difference between L-1 and TN, and for a household where both adults work it often decides the route. A mobility policy confirms that the family is covered for the assignment, meaning covered for shipping, schooling allowances and tax support, and the family reads that as permission to work. Gather passports, marriage records and travel dates, then verify the documents evidencing actual L-2 status before employment begins. Travel benefits and housing support are commercial arrangements; eligible family members still need their own status and documentation assessed. An unmarried child under 21 may qualify as an L dependant but does not receive the spouse’s employment authorization or become an authorized substitute consultant through that status. For family matters, confirm relationships and ages from primary civil records, then map each person's intended activity and travel sequence. Family permissions depend on the applicable individual immigration status and documentation, not the company’s internal grading system.