The principal’s qualifications and duties require their own evidence. A spouse’s experience cannot be attributed to the applicant.
Separate household capabilities
A qualifying L spouse may have work authorization with appropriate status evidence, but that does not establish the principal’s managerial capacity. The dependent category is for a qualifying spouse or unmarried child under 21; each person needs valid status.
Spouses of L-1 principals hold L-2 status and are considered employment-authorized incident to that status, so no separate employment document is needed once the admission record carries the L-2S annotation. Where the filing date may move on legal advice, avoid decisions the household cannot unwind: notice on housing, a resignation by a spouse, or a school place that must be accepted by a fixed date. Decide what that split costs: duplicate housing, travel between two homes, a spouse carrying the household alone, and a school year that may not align with the eventual move. The permission belongs to a spouse in a legally recognised marriage; a partner who is not married to the principal is outside the derivative scheme altogether and needs an independent basis.