An E-2 spouse is employment-authorized incident to status and may work for the business or anyone else. Children hold E-2 dependant status only until 21 and cannot work; after that birthday they need their own status.
The spouse gains flexibility; the children face a deadline
The E-2 spouse's employment authorization is one of the category's practical strengths. She may take a job with an unrelated employer, join the family business as an employee, or run her own activity, subject to ordinary licensing and tax rules. Hypothetical example: the wife of a Boischatel contractor who buys a New Hampshire landscaping firm is a bookkeeper; she can handle the company's accounts as an employee or work for a local firm.
Children may attend school on dependant status but may not work, and their status ends at 21 regardless of how long the parents remain. Because E-2 offers no direct path to permanent residence, a family expecting to stay for many years should discuss what happens when a child ages out and whether the parents want a different long-term route. Each family member's Canadian citizenship should be confirmed separately; a permanent-resident spouse who is not a Canadian citizen cannot be the principal investor, though she can still be a dependant.