Dependent applications turn on the family relationship rather than on the principal's academic history. A spouse and unmarried children under 21 may qualify for TD, so marriage and birth records are what matter for them, with steps that vary according to each person's nationality.
Separate credential work from relationship proof
The effort spent assembling transcripts does not carry over to dependents, whose documentation concerns marriage, parentage, and age. If a marriage certificate or birth record is in another language or was issued abroad, translation may be needed there as well. Note also that TD permits study but does not authorize employment, so a spouse's own work plans need separate analysis.
A qualifying marriage may support a TD application, but it does not answer whether switching serves the spouse’s intended activities. Passports and civil documents such as marriage and birth certificates can be gathered now, since they are needed regardless of the route. Build the household budget on the assumption that TD status gives the spouse no employment authorization. A TD spouse may live in the United States and study but has no employment authorization, and holding a nursing qualification does not change that.
Derivative TD status exists only while the principal holds the professional status, and it authorizes no work of any kind.