Read the general life across the border overview
A relocation letter may promise practical support for the household without identifying the immigration basis for each person. Read what the employer actually undertakes, then prepare the relationship and status evidence separately. The employer cannot create dependent eligibility by describing someone as family. Hypothetical example: a fly-tying materials wholesaler accepts an overseas assignment while a spouse plans remote consulting and an eighteen-year-old plans a paid placement. The decision is whether each activity has authorization under that person’s actual status, rather than assuming the principal’s approval extends to the household.
List the people behind the relocation package
Hypothetical example: a package covers travel for a spouse, child and adult sibling, and the household assumes all three will receive the same dependent status. List each person’s citizenship, age, relationship and existing immigration basis. TD covers a qualifying spouse and unmarried children under twenty-one; a sibling is not included through that relationship. Ask what independent basis any other person would need. Create one row per family member showing relationship, age, marital status, citizenship, current status, intended work or study and the record supporting each fact. This separates an eligibility question from a practical moving plan.
Separate assistance from permission
Record what the employer will pay or arrange and any conditions in the benefits agreement. Those terms do not decide admission, authorized stay or work rights. TD permits study but not employment. Qualifying E and L spouses may work incident to valid status with appropriate I-94 evidence, while children do not receive that spouse benefit. Review proposed unpaid activities on their facts instead of relying on a volunteer label. Sequence the household review before giving notice, enrolling in a program or accepting work. The slowest civil record or the person with the narrowest status condition often controls the feasible timeline.
Ask for useful factual support
An employer may be able to confirm the principal’s current position, assignment and other relevant facts it knows. Ask the immigration reviewer which evidence is appropriate for family members joining later. Keep each person’s status dates and travel documents current, including a later USCIS status grant where applicable. Present the relocation package as practical support and the immigration evidence as a separate record; neither should be made to say more than it does. A frequent mistake is treating a dependent’s age or a spouse’s relationship as the entire answer. Marriage, a paid placement, previous status and the principal’s route may each change the available options.
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: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.