Ownership or family relationship does not itself establish immigration work permission. Assess each person’s actual status and activity.
Identify the individual basis
Qualifying L spouses are employment authorized incident to status with appropriate documentation. Children do not gain work permission solely through L dependent status. Other relatives cannot be assumed to share the principal’s permissions merely because the business is family-owned.
A bank authorization may show permission to sign, while an internal policy limits the decision itself. A spouse admitted in L-2 dependent status is employment-authorized incident to that status and does not need a separate work permit, with the endorsement on the arrival record serving as evidence. A child near 21 needs a plan for the birthday, since L-2 eligibility ends then and a student category or another basis must be in place beforehand. An ownership stake answers a governance or tax question, not an immigration question, and a relative who holds equity in the business still needs an independent basis to work in the United States. Review each relative's situation on its own facts rather than assuming a shared last name or a shared cap table extends anyone's permission. Ask what specific status, if any, supports the work a relative is actually planning to do, since an ownership certificate is not evidence of that. Treat family involvement in the business as a separate question from family members' individual immigration status, and confirm the latter before assigning any relative real responsibilities.