Read the general life across the border overview
A shared moving plan is useful, but each family member’s immigration status and intended activities require attention. For a Foothills County household, separate school dates, employment decisions and housing commitments from the actual legal steps. The principal applicant’s planned start does not establish everyone’s work or study permissions.
Give each person an activity record
List citizenship, relationship, age, current status and intended U.S. activities. Include remote work, unpaid participation in a family business and study rather than assuming a label resolves permission. Hypothetical example: the principal starts a new role while a spouse hopes to continue a foreign job remotely. That work requires its own assessment.
Use the correct dependent distinction
TD does not authorize employment. Qualifying E and L spouses are employment authorized incident to status, with appropriate status documentation; dependent children do not receive work authorization solely through those classifications. TD, E and L dependents may study while maintaining status, including postsecondary study, but study does not itself extend authorized stay or create work permission.
Review age and immigration-stage changes
For immigrant pathways, assess each person’s eligibility and relevant child-age rules, including CSPA where applicable. Do not assume payment or petition filing alone freezes age. Identify commitments that can change if a decision or document takes longer, and revisit the calendar when the principal’s route or household circumstances change. Temporary derivative eligibility concerns spouses and unmarried children under 21. Immigrant derivatives also need their own qualifying relationship and age assessment; they may enter with or after the principal, not before. A school registration or separate household calendar cannot alter those requirements.
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.
- Department of State — TN professional workers
- Department of State — 9 FAM 402.17
- USTR — USMCA Chapter 16 Appendix 2
- USCIS — fee schedule
- ICE — nonimmigrant classes that may study
- USCIS — L classification documentation and evidence
- Department of State — 9 FAM 402.12
- USCIS — employment authorization for certain spouses
- Department of State — treaty investors
- Department of State — 9 FAM 402.9
- USCIS — EB-5 investor program
- USCIS — business and investment visa overview
- USCIS — Child Status Protection Act
- Department of State — Visa Bulletin