Derivative spouse permission is a different basis from an independent L-1B principal case. Qualifying L spouses may be employment-authorized incident to status with appropriate evidence.
Identify the actual status basis
An EAD is not universally required for qualifying L spouses. Children do not gain work permission solely through dependent status.
The practical implication is that the spouse's ability to work rises and falls with the principal's classification, including its five-year maximum for L-1B. Record each family member's citizenship, relationship, age, and intended activity, and confirm the spouse's own documentation of employment authorization. Do not assume that a spouse’s professional licence or a child’s school acceptance answers the immigration-status question. Unmarried children under twenty-one accompany as derivatives and attend school, but they hold no work authorization and lose derivative eligibility at that birthday. Employer coverage or relocation support does not itself grant entry, residence or work permission to a spouse or child. The principal still needs the continuous full-time foreign year, qualifying corporate relationship, and specialized-knowledge American assignment.