Read the general life across the border overview
A Sainte-Catherine couple may both expect to participate in the U.S. enterprise. Identify the spouse’s actual status and intended work rather than assuming that the principal’s business permission covers the household. A first review should make separate columns for each household member: current status, relationship evidence, proposed activity, work rule and date needing attention. TD does not authorize work; qualifying E and L spouses may be employment-authorized incident to status, while children do not receive that spouse benefit. Decide which plans may proceed together and which require a different status or a pause before business duties begin.
Establish the real dependent basis
The relevant TD, E and L categories generally concern a qualifying spouse and unmarried children under 21. Record citizenship and document requirements individually. A business relationship and a family relationship are different facts; neither a company role nor a shared address alone establishes all dependent conditions. Hypothetical example: the owner of a custom hearing-protection workshop plans to be the principal investor while their spouse will take customer orders and make moulds. Marriage does not settle the spouse’s work question. The household must decide whether the actual dependent status permits those tasks before scheduling the opening.
Apply the work rule of the actual status
TD does not authorize work. Qualifying E and L spouses may be employment-authorized incident to valid status with appropriate evidence; an EAD is not universally mandatory. Children do not acquire that spouse benefit. A spouse’s proposed management role does not itself create the qualifying status or remove the need to establish work authorization.
Keep study and age planning separate
Give each spouse a separate activity record: the business tasks proposed, the status on which work would rely, the evidence available and the intended start date. A plan to help with the company should not be treated as work authorization. Keep children’s school and stay records apart from that business plan: study does not extend dependent status, and unmarried-under-21 limits still need attention. Immigrant CSPA questions require individual assessment and generally do not freeze TD, E or L age limits. A shared business calendar must accommodate each person’s actual immigration position.
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.