L2 visa symbol meaning.

What L2 means in 22 CFR 41.12

Section 41.12 of Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations is titled “Classification symbols”. It opens: “A nonimmigrant visa issued to an applicant within one of the classes described in this section shall bear an appropriate visa symbol to show its classification. The symbol shall be inserted in the space provided on the visa.” Table 1 to that section then lists each symbol with its class and the section of law. The row for L2 is:

The statute behind the symbol

The “section of law” column points to the Immigration and Nationality Act. Most rows cite INA 101(a)(15), codified at 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15), the definition of “immigrant”, which lists the classes of nonimmigrant aliens by letter and begins: “The term “immigrant” means every alien except an alien who is within one of the following classes of nonimmigrant aliens”.

The L2 row cites INA 101(a)(15)(L), the same subparagraph as the L1 row. Subparagraph (L) is one undivided paragraph, so there is no separate clause for the family. It reads:

“subject to section 1184(c)(2) of this title, an alien who, within 3 years preceding the time of his application for admission into the United States, has been employed continuously for one year by a firm or corporation or other legal entity or an affiliate or subsidiary thereof and who seeks to enter the United States temporarily in order to continue to render his services to the same employer or a subsidiary or affiliate thereof in a capacity that is managerial, executive, or involves specialized knowledge, and the alien spouse and minor children of any such alien if accompanying him or following to join him;”

Source: INA 101(a)(15)(L)

Reading the L2 row against its neighbours

The class name in Table 1 is “Spouse or Child of L1”. The statute’s own words are “the alien spouse and minor children of any such alien if accompanying him or following to join him”. The table says “Child”; the statute says “minor children”. The table row is a label and the statute is the text it points to.

The principal L1 row in the table is “Intracompany Transferee (Executive, Managerial, and Specialized Knowledge Personnel Continuing Employment)” and cites the same subparagraph. L2 is therefore defined only by reference to L1 and to the words about the spouse and minor children. The first words of the statute, “subject to section 1184(c)(2) of this title”, show that another section also bears on the L classification; this page has not read that section.

The table does not mention work authorization, the length of stay or the rules for any particular country. Those are not part of what a visa symbol says, and nothing here should be read as saying whether an L2 holder may work.

What this page does not tell you

A visa symbol is a label. Table 1 says what each class is called and where the classification comes from in law. It says nothing about who qualifies, what evidence is needed, how long anyone may stay, whether work is allowed or what an application costs. Those answers sit in other regulations and in agency guidance and they change, so use the lookup above to read the label and then take the question to the State Department’s visa pages (travel.state.gov, which blocked automated reading on November 2, 2026, so we have not cited its contents) or a licensed immigration attorney.

For other codes seen on immigration paperwork, see the EAD category code lookup, which covers a different code set, and the I-94 number format checker.

• TN visa symbol meaning: TN, the other symbol in this set that has a separate row for family members.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.

• eCFR: 22 CFR 41.12 Classification symbols, Table 1 (current text; last amended 2023-09-12 per the eCFR version history) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR renderer API, the same section as machine-readable text (read November 2, 2026)
• Cornell Legal Information Institute: 8 U.S.C. 1101, definitions, subsection (a)(15) (read November 2, 2026)