Read the general life across the border overview
A useful skill, family company role, personal guarantee, or relationship to the principal does not automatically authorize U.S.-based employment. The household needs a fact-by-fact activity and status review.
Describe activity and physical location
Write down what each person expects to do: promotion, translation, bookkeeping, client contact, study, or unrelated employment. Include compensation, recipient, and where the task will be performed. A Canadian payer does not necessarily remove the U.S. work question when the person is physically present there. This approach is safer than characterizing a regular commercial role as informal family assistance and hoping that label settles the issue. Keep the record practical: identify the date, author, recipient, and purpose of every important document, then compare its language with the future plan. Do not ask one paper to establish facts it cannot genuinely prove. Where a detail is uncertain, preserve the question for appropriate advice rather than rewriting it into a confident conclusion. This approach helps distinguish supporting context from the element that the applicable immigration rule actually requires.
Use the dependent rules that actually apply
TD lets eligible dependants accompany a TN principal and study, but it does not permit employment. Eligible L-2 and E spouses are generally work-authorized incident to valid spousal status under their respective rules; confirm the individual record. L-2 and E children can generally study but do not gain the spouse’s work authority. A common-law partner is not automatically a derivative spouse. Review documents, admission records, age, and activity for each person. Keep the record practical: identify the date, author, recipient, and purpose of every important document, then compare its language with the future plan. Do not ask one paper to establish facts it cannot genuinely prove. Where a detail is uncertain, preserve the question for appropriate advice rather than rewriting it into a confident conclusion. This approach helps distinguish supporting context from the element that the applicable immigration rule actually requires.
Keep investor and corporate plans individual
Eligible EB-5 spouses and unmarried children under 21 may generally seek derivative treatment subject to applicable rules, but business partners do not acquire that relationship by co-investing. Under published Gold Card terms, intended eligible joining family are identified individually. An EB-5 petition, Gold Card payment, or principal’s offer does not itself give a dependant present work or residence permission. Track every child’s age and obtain individual advice before irreversible commitments. Keep the record practical: identify the date, author, recipient, and purpose of every important document, then compare its language with the future plan. Do not ask one paper to establish facts it cannot genuinely prove. Where a detail is uncertain, preserve the question for appropriate advice rather than rewriting it into a confident conclusion. This approach helps distinguish supporting context from the element that the applicable immigration rule actually requires.
What else is on your mind?
Is a matching job title enough for TN?Can years of experience replace a degree for TN?Can my own U.S. company employ me under TN?Can my spouse work if I hold TN status?Editorial source review: 2026-09-08. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.
- USCIS: TN NAFTA Professionals
- U.S. Department of State: USMCA professional workers
- Department of State: 9 FAM 402.17, TN and TD guidance
- eCFR: 8 CFR 214.6, Citizens of Canada or Mexico seeking temporary entry as business persons
- USCIS: Form G-1055, Fee Schedule
- USCIS: L-1A Intracompany Transferee Executive or Manager
- USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2 Part L, Intracompany Transferees
- eCFR: 8 CFR 214.2(l), Intracompany transferees
- Department of State: 9 FAM 402.12, L classifications
- USCIS: L-1B Intracompany Transferee Specialized Knowledge
- USCIS: employment authorization for certain spouses, Policy Manual Volume 10 Part B Chapter 2
- ICE: Study in the States, SEVP
- USCIS: E-2 Treaty Investors
- Department of State: 9 FAM 402.9, Treaty traders and treaty investors
- USCIS: EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program
- USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6 Part G, Investors
- EB-5 statutory investment and job conditions, 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)
- USCIS: Form I-829 instructions
- USCIS translation requirement, 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3)
- Official Gold Card program and FAQ