Employer procedures do not establish immigration work permission. Assess each person’s actual status and intended activity, separately from internal business approvals.
Keep status and workplace procedures distinct
Qualifying L spouses are employment authorized incident to status with appropriate documentation. Children gain no work permission solely through L dependent status. Any employer onboarding process is a separate matter from establishing these immigration rights.
A pending case or informal promise does not establish existing authorized staffing or alter the principal’s past duties. Since the policy change confirmed in USCIS guidance, spouses in L-2 status are employment-authorized by virtue of the status itself, and an admission record annotated for the spouse serves as evidence for employers. A family relationship does not prove that the function has adequate operational support, and the principal’s petition alone should not be used as the spouse’s current status record. Keep children's schooling plans distinct from any work question, and do not let the principal applicant's target date silently decide everyone else's arrangements. Children may attend school at any level, may not work, including part-time or summer jobs, and lose L-2 status at 21 or on marriage. Unmarried children under twenty-one may accompany the family and study, but they do not receive work authorization.