Review the actual activity; L children do not receive the work permission of qualifying L spouses.
Separate education from a business assignment
A family interest in the article or a description of the task as unpaid does not automatically resolve work authorization. Identify what the child would actually do before assigning business duties.
Define the proposed activity before calling it study, volunteering, or family help. Preparing diagrams, editing technical instructions, translating customer material, or meeting a production deadline can be productive business work even if unpaid. L-2 children do not gain employment authorization; only qualifying L-2 spouses are authorized incident to status. Keep the child out of commercial assignments unless an independent lawful basis permits them, and structure genuine school projects through the school rather than the employer. The principal’s L-1B case must stand on the employee’s own special or advanced company knowledge, an uninterrupted qualifying foreign year in the relevant three-year window, and active related entities. The common mistake is believing lack of wages makes a child’s contribution harmless.
Hypothetical example: An engineered-wood technician near Larouche transfers to explain her company’s resin-monitoring process. Her sixteen-year-old daughter, who enjoys graphic design, offers to redraw U.S. training sheets during summer break. The family declines the business assignment and lets company staff produce the materials. If the student later completes a classroom design exercise, it remains educator-directed and is not used to satisfy a commercial deliverable or replace an employee.