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KILLARNEY · E-2 FIELD GUIDE

Can the spouse take over the departing partner’s work immediately?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

Only the spouse’s appropriate authorization permits U.S. work. A commercial vacancy does not create permission.

Check status before reassigning duties

A qualifying E spouse may work incident to valid status with appropriate evidence, including relevant I-94 documentation. The principal’s filing is not enough. Eligible unmarried children under 21 do not receive that spouse authorization.

For a household moving on a single business, the spouse's ability to earn elsewhere is often what makes the first two years survivable, and here it comes with the status rather than requiring a separate application. Do not confuse dependent permission with principal eligibility: investor and enterprise need treaty nationality, at least 50 percent treaty-national ownership, direction through ownership or operational control, and committed at-risk capital in a real, nonmarginal venture. Derivative status for an unmarried child ends at 21, the treaty-investor category offers no direct path to permanent residence that would carry the family through, and a student status has its own admission and funding requirements that take months to arrange. Discuss any independent employment plans and the children's future status questions explicitly, rather than assuming a shared business plan settles the whole household's arrangements.