IN THIS GUIDE · Comparing a spouse’s existing US status with a proposed move to TD
Start with the TN eligibility and application overview
Start with the current record
Collect the spouse’s current I-94, relevant approval notices and any employment authorization document. Record expiry dates and what currently supports the status. A visa in a passport is not a complete account of the person’s status or permission to work inside the United States. The first review should produce a dated status map: document number, class of admission, expiration, employer or program tied to the status, and any work restriction. That map identifies which record, rather than a recollection, settles what the spouse may do today.
Compare intended activities
List the job, course of study and travel the spouse wants to continue. TD permits study but does not authorize employment. If employment is essential, review whether the existing route can lawfully continue or whether another independent work basis is available. Make a concrete decision about whether paid work, even occasional consulting, must continue. If it does, do not arrange the move around TD and try to solve authorization later. Match the intended activity to the route before resigning, accepting duties or setting a start date.
Identify what would end existing permission
Ask counsel how a proposed change would affect the spouse’s current employment and its authorization. Do not assume a card’s printed expiry preserves work permission after an underlying status change. The effect depends on the actual basis for that authorization and the procedure used. A first review should identify the document that controls the existing work authorization and the event that would alter it. Keep the actual filing or admission record with the employment records, because a later employer may need a precise explanation rather than a general assurance.
Choose the route before scheduling travel
The spouse’s location and current status affect the available process. Review the consequences of travel during any pending step before booking. The principal’s TN plan and the spouse’s separate timeline should be coordinated without assuming that both must use the same application sequence. Decide whether the spouse needs to travel before, during or after the selected step, then obtain advice on that exact sequence. A booked flight does not preserve a pending change or create a work right. Record the planned departure and return dates alongside the principal’s anticipated admission dates.
Identify which listed profession the duties actually describe
A workable substitute needs its own facts: who the employing or contracting party now is, what the professional duties are, how they map to a listed profession and its credential alternatives, over what period, and on what terms.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.