Feb 2022
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has begun to enforce a new class of admission (COA) codes for E and L dependents as of January 31, 2022.
This means that L-2 and E-1 dependent nonimmigrant spouses are no longer required to apply for employment authorization documents in order to work in the U.S.
Upon entry, electronic I-94 records should now reflect an “S” for spouse to indicate work authorization incident to status or “Y” for youth. For example, an L dependent spouse would be listed as “L2S” and E dependents as “E1S”.
NOTE: This is a new policy and we can expect there will be errors in implementation. If you notice a mistake, you should request that the correction be made at the port of entry.