TD status permits study but does not authorize work, including remote or unpaid work, so a spouse cannot cover an income gap by taking a job. Household budgeting has to run on the principal's actual pay, from the date it actually starts. The record to obtain first is the compensation schedule attached to the agreement, which should state the training rate, the date it ends and the pay cycle. Benefit start dates sit in a separate document and often differ from the employment start date.
Plan the household around the confirmed pay date
Ask the employer in writing whether the training weeks are paid and at what rate, then set housing and school commitments against that date rather than the arrival date. If a spouse intends to work at some point, that needs its own authorization and its own analysis with counsel. Dependent eligibility also depends on marriage and on a child being unmarried and under twenty-one.
Employer benefit records deserve their own request. A group insurance certificate or benefits summary shows on its face when medical coverage actually begins for dependants, and a waiting period measured from the first payroll run rather than from arrival can leave a family uncovered for weeks. Where the two records disagree about the start of coverage, ask the plan administrator to confirm in writing instead of relying on a recruiter's summary.
None of that gap is closed by a spouse working, which TD status does not permit.