Eligible family members generally use L-2 with either L-1A or L-1B, but their individual status dates and required procedures still need review when the principal changes capacity or extends a stay.
Check records rather than labels
Provide counsel with the family’s I-94s and approval notices alongside the principal’s history. Eligible L-2 spouses are employment authorized incident to qualifying status with suitable documentation; children in L-2 cannot work and must remain unmarried and under 21. A promotion does not automatically issue new family documents or guarantee additional time.
Coordinate dependent steps with the actual principal filing. The failure mode is assuming the family follows automatically. A change of capacity does not issue new dependent documents, extend anyone admission or guarantee additional time, and households discover this when a dependent record expires on its own schedule while the principal is mid-extension.
The earliest signal is a family that cannot say, without checking, when each person admission expires. Provide counsel with each family member I-94 and approval notices alongside the principal history, and coordinate the dependent steps with the actual principal filing rather than after it. Eligible L-2 spouses are employment authorized incident to qualifying status with suitable documentation; children in L-2 cannot work and must remain unmarried and under 21.