A qualifying L spouse’s work permission arises from the relevant individual status, not from sharing the principal’s knowledge. Check the appropriate documentation. Nothing in a spouse's situation depends on the principal's knowledge claim, and no employer letter can create or withhold a spouse's permission. Responsibility for that evidence sits with the spouse, who must be able to show the qualifying status and the documentation appropriate to it. Treat the two files as separate from the start.
Keep the classifications distinct
Qualifying L spouses are employment authorized incident to status. Children do not receive work permission solely through L dependent status. If another family member seeks an independent work route, assess that proposal on its own requirements.
Households often ask the sponsoring company to arrange everything, and that company's authority stops at its own petition. A qualifying L spouse is employment authorized incident to status with appropriate evidence, which the spouse presents to their own employer rather than to the principal's. Children hold dependent status carrying no work permission; study is permitted but does not extend an authorized stay.
Where a spouse's career depends on continuity, ask counsel early which independent routes exist, since the answer may turn on their own qualifications rather than on the transfer. Maximum stay for L-1B is generally five years, shorter than the L-1A limit, so a household planning a long horizon should hear that before it commits.