A qualifying spouse in L-2 status is employment-authorized incident to status under current policy, and children in dependent status may study but not work. What changes with a second assignment is the horizon: the remaining period may be shorter than the family expects.
Plan schooling and work around the real remaining period
Families make long commitments — school placements, housing, a spouse's career move — on the strength of an assignment's announced length. Where a maximum period is partly used, the assignment may end earlier than the business intends, and that is a household matter as much as a corporate one. Establish the remaining period first and let the family plan against it honestly.
For a spouse considering employment, the notation on the arrival record is what an employer will look for, so verify it at admission. Any child approaching twenty-one should be discussed with counsel separately, since derivative status for children rests on being unmarried and under that age. Housing, schooling and a spouse's job search should all follow the answer about the remaining period rather than precede it.
Hypothetical example: Luc has a proposed transfer involving specialized knowledge of custom prosthetic-limb finishing, while his spouse is finishing an online architecture program. A family review should list admission documents, passport validity, relationship evidence and the timing of study or work plans for every dependant. The marriage record and each child's birth record settle the relationship questions; a principal's approval notice alone does not.
Plan renewals and travel around the principal's validity period. Difficulty arises when a family treats dependent status as interchangeable with visitor status, or assumes a teenager's age will remain within the dependant rules throughout a long assignment.