The child does not receive the work authorization available to a qualifying L spouse. Do not treat the parent’s specialized knowledge or employer consent as permission for the child to work.
Identify each person’s actual authorization
L dependent eligibility can cover an eligible spouse and unmarried children under 21. A qualifying spouse may work incident to valid status with appropriate evidence, but that rule does not extend to children. Describe the proposed activity and assess any separate permission rather than relying on an unpaid family-help label.
If the spouse's employment is intended to continue beyond the assignment, an employer-sponsored route in the spouse's own right takes time to arrange and cannot sensibly be started in the final months. A dependant's authorized period is derived from the principal's and can be granted shorter than the household expects, while school registration, a lease and a spouse's employment authorization each answer to a different calendar and a different office.
- USCIS — L classification documentation and evidence
- Department of State — 9 FAM 402.12
- 8 USC 1184 — specialized knowledge definition
- USCIS — employment authorization for certain spouses
- ICE — nonimmigrant classes that may study
- USCIS — fee schedule
- L definitions, foreign employment and new-office evidence
- L1B specialized knowledge and offsite placement statute