Each family member needs their own status and activity review. TD spouses and children cannot work; qualifying ordinary E-2 and L-2 spouses can be employment authorized incident to valid status, with appropriate evidence. Children do not receive the spouse’s work rights, and nationality can affect individual visa and travel procedures. Each of those propositions is proved by a specific document rather than by the household’s understanding of its own arrangement. Relationship is proved by civil records naming the parties. Status is proved by the admission record issued to that person. Permission to work is proved by the classification shown on that record, together with whatever the employment-verification process requires. Where a family cannot point to the document that proves a claim, the claim is still open.
Start with the people involved
Identify the principal, spouse and children who may accompany or follow later. Record each person’s nationality, relationship, age and intended work or study activity. TD, L-2 and ordinary E-2 frameworks address eligible spouses and unmarried children under 21. More complex relationship or age questions should be identified for individual advice early.
Check the proposed activity
Being able to accompany the principal does not mean every family member can work. TD prohibits employment. Qualifying L-2 and ordinary E-2 spouses have different work rules, including recognized spouse-specific I-94 evidence; dependent children do not share those permissions. A job offer or school plan should not substitute for review of the person’s actual classification.
Coordinate records and practical plans
Track individual documents, dates and procedures instead of relying on one household approval. Mixed nationalities, later travel or a change in principal employment can require further review. Keep personal records out of public enquiries, confirm the relevant evidence before employment and seek qualified advice about unresolved status questions rather than assuming an outcome or timetable.
What each record has to show on its face
Certificates are read literally, so check what they actually state. A marriage certificate should name both parties and the date, and where a name has changed, some further record has to connect the two versions. A birth certificate should name the parents, which is why adoption, guardianship and step-relationships usually need additional documents rather than an explanation. An admission record should show the classification and the period of stay for that individual, which is the reason each family member’s record is checked separately rather than one being taken as representative. A spouse relying on employment authorization incident to status needs the specific evidence the verification process accepts. Translations, where required, follow the receiving agency’s stated rules rather than a household’s preference.
When the document does not say what was assumed
Assumptions about family records survive until somebody reads them. Hypothetical example: The spouse of an employee transferred by an audit-support outsourcing firm accepts a job offer on the strength of the principal’s approval notice, and the prospective employer then asks for evidence of employment authorization. The approval notice is the wrong document: it concerns the principal. What matters is the spouse’s own unexpired admission record and the classification it shows, presented with the other documentation the verification process requires. Read every family document before it is needed — after each entry, after any extension, and before an offer is accepted — and raise a discrepancy with counsel while there is still time to correct it rather than after an employer has relied on it.
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.