Prior postings do not by themselves complicate derivative status, which depends on the principal's L classification. Children in L-2 status may study and are never employment-authorized, and dependent status ends at twenty-one regardless of how many countries the family has lived in.
Mobile families accumulate paperwork worth keeping
Households that have moved between assignments usually hold a scattered set of documents across several countries, and the practical advice is to consolidate them before they are needed: each family member's passports including expired ones, birth certificates, school records and any prior immigration documents. Where a child was born during a posting, the citizenship they acquired may differ from the parents' and should be established rather than assumed, because each family member's own citizenship decides what routes exist for them. Note also that a child's twenty-first birthday is a fixed deadline that does not accommodate an assignment schedule.
A licensed adviser should confirm the position for each member of the household. Hypothetical example: Arman is sent by a specialty-glass maker, and his family has lived in several countries during earlier assignments. Create a family document register before travel with passports, prior approval notices, birth records, marriage evidence and a calendar of every dependent’s age and travel needs.
The principal’s admission and qualifying employment evidence establish the route; each relative’s own identity records establish who can accompany him. Sequence document replacement before travel dates become urgent, especially where an old passport contains a prior visa history. The usual problem is a mismatch in names across civil records.
A spouse’s employment eligibility depends on maintaining valid dependent status, while children cannot work as L dependents.