Review each person’s intended stay, status and activities separately. A preliminary business visit does not establish the household’s later immigration permissions.
Confirm status before relying on work rights
Qualifying L spouses are employment authorized incident to status with appropriate documentation; that does not mean a spouse visiting before obtaining the relevant status has the same permission. Children do not gain work permission solely through L dependent status.
Spouses of L-1 principals hold L-2 status and are considered employment-authorized incident to that status, so no separate employment document is needed once the admission record carries the L-2S annotation. Describe a genuine arrangement and separately verify the spouse’s actual authorization. A planned hire does not establish current work permission or current staffing. Explain whether the spouse would invest, direct operations or perform services, and obtain review before work starts. Qualifying L spouse work permission depends on appropriate actual status with required evidence, not the principal’s reconstructed calendar alone. The recurring error is confusing corporate power to issue an offer with immigration permission to accept it. For a household with a child who is 18 or 19 at the start of a multi-year assignment, plan the child's transition to a student classification or another route in advance.