Read the general life across the border overview
North Hatley families should distinguish a shared move plan from the legal status, work rights and charges of each included person. The decision for an academic household is whether the accompanying spouse will only study, which a dependant status allows, or will also be paid by the institution, which it does not. That answer determines whether the spouse needs a classification of their own before the first paycheque, not after.
Describe the actual work before accepting it
TD status carries no employment authorization. Qualifying E and L spouses may work incident to appropriate status with required evidence, but children do not obtain the spouse’s work permission. An agency placement, equipment installation or testing task needs assessment based on the actual activity; being unpaid or useful to the family does not automatically resolve the issue.
Separate derivatives from new principals
An eligible EB-5 derivative is not another principal investor merely because the family has more members. Eligible children generally must be unmarried and under 21, with case-specific CSPA analysis. Immigrant-visa derivatives enter with or after the principal. Gold Card expressly adds US$1 million and US$15,000 nonrefundable processing for every eligible included spouse or child, including corporate cases, even if payments are grouped.
Separate studying from earning on a dependant status
Hypothetical example: a physiotherapist from North Hatley accepts a TN position with a rehabilitation clinic in Massachusetts, supported by her state licence and the health-care worker certification required of physical therapists at admission. Her husband, who holds a doctorate, plans to join a university laboratory nearby. If he enters as her TD dependant, he may enrol in courses and even a degree programme, because TD permits study, but the laboratory cannot pay him a research stipend, an assistantship or a salary; TD carries no employment authorization and no application can add one. Should the university wish to pay him, it must sponsor a status that allows the work, for instance a TN of his own if his duties fit a listed profession and he meets that profession’s exact qualification rule, or a different employer-sponsored classification outside this site’s scope. The couple’s decision is whether he arrives as TD first and changes status later, or waits in Québec until his own classification is approved, since paid work on TD would violate his status.
Records to gather for the spouse’s own case
If the husband will seek his own TN, the deciding evidence is the university’s letter describing professional duties, his doctorate with transcripts and, for any profession requiring it, a licence or certification. A generic offer of a “visiting scholar” position proves nothing about TN eligibility, because that title is not a profession on the list. The couple should disclose relevant ownership and confirm that each TN professional will work for a genuine U.S. employer rather than an entity the applicant owns or controls, because U.S. self-employment is prohibited under TN. Children, if any, remain eligible for TD only while unmarried and under 21 and may attend school; none of them acquire work permission from either parent’s status.
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.