Read the general life across the border overview
A household does not receive one visa together. Each person is examined under the category and the documents that apply to them, and a child may hold a citizenship no one else in the family holds. While a passport application is outstanding, the useful work is to record what exists today, what each person intends to do, and which commitments depend on a document that has not been issued.
One line per person, with documents
For each member of the household, write the citizenships held, the travel document in hand with its expiry, and any application that is pending with the date it was filed. Record relationships as they are evidenced: a marriage certificate, a birth record, an adoption order. A spouse and a child raise separate questions, and an unmarried partner is not a qualifying spouse merely because the couple lives together. Note which documents are held in French and would need translation for a filing.
Match intended activities to the status each person would hold
Say where each person intends to live, work or study rather than labelling them as accompanying family. TD status covers a spouse and unmarried children under twenty-one, permits study and does not authorize employment; an unpaid activity is looked at on its own facts rather than under a blanket rule. Qualifying E and L dependent spouses are employment-authorized incident to valid status, with the individual status and I-94 evidence still mattering, and children are not covered by that same work rule.
Sequence the commitments around the missing document
Hypothetical example: a family living in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines fixes a departure date while a child's first passport application is pending. Record which arrangements — a lease, a school place, a notice period at work — can be moved, and who must be told if the date changes. List any age-related deadline that would fall during the plan. Then ask which steps genuinely require the document in hand, so that nobody waits on a paper that is not needed at that stage and nobody commits on the assumption it will arrive.
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.