Read the general life across the border overview
Rivière-Éternité households should establish each person’s actual status and derivative requirements rather than infer permission from a business relationship or visitor visa. A family review should produce a person-by-person chart of relationship evidence, age, marital status, current US permission and planned activity. Hypothetical example: A principal applicant’s spouse plans to arrive first and provide paid bookkeeping to the new business while a 20-year-old child begins school. The family must decide whose status, if any, provides work permission and whether the child remains an eligible derivative when the immigration step actually occurs.
Review work rights before providing services
TD does not authorize employment. An E or L spouse who holds the appropriate status is employment-authorized incident to that status once the required evidence is in place; a child in the same household has no equivalent right. A service contract, former client relationship or completed franchise training does not itself provide the family member’s US work authorization. Start with the planned activity, not the family title. A dependent child who may study does not thereby receive employment permission, and a spouse’s work authorization depends on the underlying category and evidence of appropriate status. Review paid services, remote work, self-employment, volunteer arrangements and business ownership separately before travel. The practical decision is whether a family member needs independent authorization before beginning work, rather than assuming that an invoice, a business role or a shared household changes the immigration rule.
Use the actual family immigration record
Eligible children generally must be unmarried and under 21, with individual CSPA review; immigrant-visa derivatives enter with or after the principal. Gold Card adds US$1 million plus US$15,000 nonrefundable processing for each eligible included spouse or child, including corporate cases. Existing visitor visas or a high project appraisal do not replace those conditions or guarantee a shared move date. Collect civil documents early and compare each person’s age and relationship with the relevant category’s rules. For immigrant cases, a child generally must be unmarried and under 21, subject to the applicable CSPA analysis; timing can matter. Keep a separate record for each person’s passport, prior travel and intended admission or adjustment. The family must decide whether all relatives can proceed together or whether a staggered plan better fits the documented eligibility, without assuming that a visitor visa guarantees a common move date.
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.