A qualifying spouse may work incident to appropriate L status with the required evidence; a planned transfer does not give that status in advance.
Budget from the spouse’s actual permission
Check the spouse’s admission or status documentation before treating U.S. earnings as authorized. Eligible unmarried children under 21 do not obtain the spouse’s work permission. The employer’s leave or relocation policy does not determine family immigration rights.
Spouses of L-1 principals hold work authorization by virtue of their status rather than by separate grant, and the admission record itself evidences it, so there is no waiting period between arrival and a first pay cheque. Identify the spouse’s passport, marriage record, each child’s birth record, marital status, and age, then confirm that the principal’s L-1 petition and travel plan can support the related applications. Confirm each dependant’s own status and intended activity separately, including anyone who plans to keep working for a Canadian employer remotely, since that arrangement raises questions worth resolving before departure rather than after. If a relative will remain outside the United States initially, plan for the appropriate later process instead of assuming the principal’s approval automatically places that person in status.