Eligible spouses and unmarried children under 21 may seek L-2 classification. Eligible spouses in valid L-2 status are employment authorised incident to status; dependent children are not authorised to work through L-2.
Check each person’s records
An unexpired I-94 bearing L-2S can evidence a spouse’s employment authorisation for Form I-9 purposes, together with the other required employment-verification documentation. Collect marriage, birth and identity records and confirm each dependent’s visa or status procedure. Family status depends on the principal’s qualifying employment and valid status; the employee’s petition does not automatically complete dependent applications.
Family circumstances change more often than corporate ones, and each change has its own consequence. Hypothetical example: An employee of an insurance brokerage marries after the transfer is approved but before travel; the spouse now needs their own visa or status procedure and their own relationship evidence, and nothing about the principal’s existing approval supplies either. Other developments carry different weight: a child turning 21 affects continued eligibility as a dependent, a change in the principal’s status or employment affects everyone derived from it, and a decision to travel separately produces separate admission records.
Tell counsel promptly when a household fact moves, and re-check each person’s I-94 after any later entry rather than assuming the earlier classification carried forward automatically.