Read the general life across the border overview
Dependent planning requires an accurate account of who qualifies as a spouse or child under the relevant route. Start with the actual relationships and identify the records available to establish them. A shared address or moving plan should not substitute for relationship evidence or an individual assessment of eligibility.
Map relationships before collecting files
Identify the principal applicant and each person seeking to accompany them, stating the relationship accurately. TD, L-2 and ordinary E-2 family frameworks concern spouses and unmarried children under 21. Where the family circumstances raise a more complex relationship question, flag it for qualified review rather than assume a household label answers it.
Identify records and inconsistencies
Privately inventory marriage, birth or other relevant records and note differences in names, dates or descriptions. Ask counsel what evidence the actual procedure needs before commissioning translations or obtaining additional copies. The objective is to establish a clear relationship account, not to collect every family document without knowing its purpose.
Keep the evidence review individual
A record useful for one person may not resolve another person’s eligibility or visa procedure. Link each document to the relationship it supports and keep outstanding questions visible. Share sensitive family records only through an agreed process; a public initial enquiry can explain the general issue without including identifying documents.
Draw the relationships before opening any file
Start with a simple map rather than a folder. Set out each person, their relationship to the principal, the event that created it and the date of that event: birth, marriage, adoption, or a prior marriage that ended. Include relationships that have ended, since a previous marriage generally has to be accounted for even where it is not directly relevant. Only when the map is complete does it become clear which records are needed and from where. Building the map first also prevents the common outcome in which a household gathers a large number of documents and discovers late that the one establishing a critical link was never on the list.
Review each person's records individually
Documents that look consistent at the level of a household frequently are not at the level of an individual, and only a person-by-person review finds it. For each person, check the spelling and order of the name across every record, the date of birth in each convention, the place of birth, and the parents' names as recorded. Note every variation and identify the document that would explain it. Check expiry dates and the language of each original, since translations take time and certified translations more. Where a record is missing or a registry has to be approached abroad, start that request immediately, since these are consistently the slowest items and they are entirely predictable in advance.
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.