Family plans follow the principal's status, not the licence. A spouse and unmarried children under 21 may qualify for TD, which permits study but does not authorize employment. Because a licence condition can delay the start date, keep school and housing commitments reversible.
Tie dependant steps to the principal's status
A licence condition can move a start date by months, and dependants generally cannot proceed ahead of the principal. Confirm each family member's citizenship and civil documents early, since nationality determines which steps apply and marriage or birth certificates may need translation. Plan on the basis that TD contemplates study but not employment, whatever income assumptions the household started with.
TD status does not permit employment, and remote work for a Canadian employer performed from U.S. soil is still work in the United States. The principal’s support relationship with scientists does not extend work authorization to the spouse. TD permits study, but enrolment in a design program does not automatically authorize client work or an internship. Collect the spouse’s citizenship evidence, independent offer, actual duties, credentials, and ownership information, then assess whether another work-authorized classification may fit. A household that needs two incomes should evaluate whether the working spouse has a route of their own before the move rather than after it.