A qualifying L spouse is employment-authorized incident to valid L spousal status, with appropriate evidence of that status. Confirm the spouse’s actual admission and records before relying on that authorization.
Check the person’s status separately
Record the spouse’s I-94 classification and validity as well as the planned business activity. An unexpired visa alone is not the whole status record. Unmarried children under 21 may qualify as dependents, but L child status does not provide employment authorization. Business formation and professional licensing also remain separate questions.
L-2 eligibility follows from the executive's own approved L-1A status once granted; the layoff issue is resolved at the principal petition stage and does not create a separate family requirement. None of this alters the principal’s own case, which still turns on a qualifying relationship between the entities, one continuous year of qualifying employment abroad within the preceding three years, duties that are primarily managerial or executive, and the seven-year ceiling on L-1A time. Where an assignment is expected to run toward the outer limit, generally seven years for L-1A, the household is planning around a temporary status, and decisions such as buying property or a spouse leaving a Canadian position deserve their own advice.