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BÉCANCOUR · E-2 FIELD GUIDE

Can a Bécancour investor's spouse take the office-manager role at the U.S. coatings company under E-2?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

Yes. An E-2 spouse is employment-authorized incident to status and may work for the enterprise or anyone else. Children may study in E-2 status but may not work.

The spouse works on her own authorization, not on the investor's role

Spouses of E-2 principals are treated as employment-authorized incident to status after admission with the spouse annotation on the admission record, so the office-manager position is permitted without a separate employment authorization document. Two practical points follow. First, do not use the spouse's salary to make the business look non-marginal; the test looks at the enterprise's capacity to generate more than a minimal living for the investor's family, and paying a family member is neutral at best.

Second, the spouse's role does not affect the control analysis; the investor must still be the person who directs the enterprise. Children under 21 hold E-2 derivative status and may attend school; a child who reaches 21 must qualify independently. The spouse's own nationality does not matter for derivative status, but a spouse who is a Canadian citizen could also qualify as an E-2 employee in a separate application if that ever became useful.