The investor’s spouse is excluded from qualifying employees for the direct-job count, even if separately authorized to work.
Separate job counting from immigration permission
An eligible spouse and unmarried children under 21 may seek derivative status subject to applicable age rules, but that family role does not make their employment count. Identify the spouse’s real work authorization independently. Neither a payroll entry nor the principal’s investor petition grants present permission to work or permanent residence.
School continuity is a family planning question, not an immigration eligibility question, but the family should still map each child's age against CSPA and visa-availability timing rather than assuming a specific school year determines when the immigration process must finish. Statutory provisions exist that can protect certain applicants from the effects of processing delay, and their application is technical and fact-specific, so a family in that position needs advice on their own dates rather than reassurance. A birth, a marriage, a separation, a child's changed circumstances, a dependant's own immigration history coming to light — each can alter the position, and each tends to be mentioned casually months after it happens.