An eligible spouse with qualifying L-2 status may work incident to status, but the company should document any actual work arrangement accurately. The immigration and commercial classification of that work need appropriate review.
Do not build the case on assumptions
If spousal services are part of the operating model, explain the tasks and timing and verify the spouse’s employment documentation. A planned dependent move is not evidence of services already being performed. L-2 children cannot work and must not be treated as available contractors.
The principal’s managerial duties must remain supported by the full operating record rather than the mere presence of a family member. Separate the household from the company on paper before anyone is paid. If a spouse performs work for the business, decide whether that work is employment, a contracted service, or unpaid assistance, and record the arrangement chosen.
Each carries different documentary consequences, and a family relationship does not settle the question. L-2 spouses are generally work authorized incident to status, which addresses permission and not classification. The company still owes the same clarity it owes any other worker: a defined role, a reporting line and records matching the payments made.
Where a spouse’s contribution is material to the claim that routine work has been delegated, expect it to be examined closely. Children in L-2 status cannot work, and a household task list is not a staffing plan.