A spouse can be described as a proposed worker when the plan is genuine, but do not assume employment before appropriate authorization exists. Eligible L-2 spouses are employment authorized incident to qualifying status and need suitable documentation.
Make the staffing assumption explicit
Explain the role, qualifications, intended timing and contingency if the spouse cannot start as expected. Family eligibility does not itself establish a filled position for the business plan. Unmarried children under 21 may qualify for L-2 but cannot work under that status, so they should not be treated as available operational staff.
The principal still needs an independently supported managerial or executive role. Make any assumption about a family member's involvement explicit rather than embedding it in a headcount. Where a spouse is genuinely intended to work in the business, document the role as a role — duties, hours, terms, remuneration and qualifications — and record that their ability to work depends on holding and maintaining valid dependent status rather than on the business's plans.
Where the plan does not depend on family labour, say so, since a reader may otherwise assume it does. Avoid describing family members as staffing in a way that would leave the operating plan exposed if their circumstances changed. Children may hold dependent status while unmarried and under 21 and cannot work in that status, so they should not appear in any staffing description at all.