Start by separating employer transfer evidence from dependent documents. Eligible spouses and unmarried children under 21 may seek L-2 status; a small company does not receive a different dependent category.
Make responsibility explicit
Agree who will obtain relationship records, monitor each person’s status dates and coordinate travel. An eligible spouse with valid L-2 status may work incident to status with proper evidence, while an L-2 child cannot. If the business depends heavily on one person, include the consequences of assignment changes in relocation planning rather than assuming the household can remain indefinitely.
In a small organization the employer and the household are often closely connected, and the responsibilities can blur in ways that create difficulty later. Make them explicit. Establish in writing what the company is undertaking to do for the employee's family and what it is not: which costs it will bear, who arranges what, and who is responsible for each step.
Where the employer is a family member or a close associate, that clarity matters more rather than less. Before relying on a spouse's earnings, confirm valid L-2 status and appropriate employment-authorization evidence; L-2 children have no work permission. Prepare the relationship documents in parallel with the technical file, and do not allow the family's arrangements to depend on assurances that have never been written down.