Children admitted in L-2 dependent status may live in the United States and attend school, but they may not work, and dependent status ends when a child turns twenty-one. A spouse admitted in L-2 status is employment-authorized incident to that status and may take a job without a separate permission application.
Put the birthdays on the corporate calendar
Families running a business abroad tend to plan the company carefully and the household loosely. Build one schedule showing each person's status, the admission record and its expiry, and the date each child reaches twenty-one. A child who will still be in the United States at that point needs a status of their own, most often as a student if enrolled, and the change takes preparation and money and cannot be arranged in the week it becomes urgent. For the accompanying spouse, employment authorization comes with the status, but a professional licence does not: an Ontario credential may or may not be recognized in a given state, and that should be checked before the household counts on that income.
Hypothetical example: a commercial mushroom-grower director transfers with a spouse who plans to resume dental hygiene and a twenty-year-old who may enroll in school. A first review produces a household calendar with admission expiries, licensing steps and the child’s age-out date. State licensing records settle whether the spouse can practise; L-2 status does not replace professional credentialing. The child’s next status should be considered before the dependent period ends. These steps matter alongside the principal’s seven-year L-1A limit, which can set the family’s outer timetable.