An eligible spouse in valid L-2 status is employment authorised incident to that status and is not tied to the principal’s client assignment for employment. Appropriate evidence, such as an unexpired L-2S I-94, matters for employment verification.
Keep the principal’s assignment compliant
The family’s derivative status still depends on the principal maintaining qualifying L-1 employment. A problematic client placement therefore matters to household planning even though the spouse has a separate employer. Unmarried children under 21 may qualify for L-2 but cannot work through that status.
Review material assignment changes before relying on continued status. A spouse's own employment position is assessed separately and does not depend on where the principal is stationed; any work authorization available to them flows from holding and maintaining valid dependent status. What the client-site arrangement does affect is the principal's own compliance, and the household's stability depends on that being maintained.
Assignments of this kind change more often than office-based roles, since a client can end an engagement, alter its scope or move the work, and a change in where or for whom the employee is effectively working may require review. Agree with the employer that material changes will be raised rather than absorbed. Keep the family's relationship and identity documents current and assembled, and avoid arranging a second household income around an assignment whose terms are outside the employer's sole control.