Read the general life across the border overview
Compare the spouse’s actual opportunity under both approaches instead of assuming dependent status is always sufficient. TD does not permit work, while qualifying L-2 and E-2 spouses have different rules. An independent route needs its own eligibility and procedure assessment, even when both people plan to move together. A first family review should produce a timeline for each person’s intended activity, a current-status check for the principal, and a written decision about how the spouse may work. TN-derived TD status does not grant employment permission. By contrast, an eligible L-2 or E spouse may have work authorization incident to status when the applicable requirements and evidence are satisfied, but an independent option still needs its own complete eligibility review.
Describe both opportunities honestly
Record the principal’s proposal and the spouse’s possible role as separate facts. Include duties, qualifications, employer participation and intended timing. A comparison becomes useful when it addresses real opportunities rather than an abstract preference for a particular category, and when neither person’s eligibility is assumed from the other’s promising circumstances. Gather the prospective employer’s description, the spouse’s credentials, and the family’s income assumptions before selecting a route. These records reveal whether a plan depends on immediate work that the contemplated dependent category does not allow.
Identify what each approach permits
Ask how the proposed dependent category relates to the spouse’s work plans and what evidence would be required. Then assess any independent route on its own requirements. Do not treat a job offer as completed authorization or assume that dependent and independent classifications can be exchanged informally whenever the household’s preferred arrangement changes. Separate travel authorization from employment authorization in the checklist. The crucial decision is whether the spouse can lawfully begin the specific activity on the planned date, not whether the household expects to live together.
Plan the consequences of change
Discuss what questions arise if one person’s employment or plans change later. Keep each individual’s records and review dates visible even when the initial move is coordinated. This guide does not choose a category for the spouse; the purpose is to identify dependencies before the household relies on a single simplified plan. Hypothetical example: an environmental-acoustics consultant has a U.S. offer, while her spouse may enter first through a work transfer. They must decide whether her proposed start date can wait for the dependent route or whether her own principal case should be assessed. A shared move date does not provide her with the transfer’s work permission.
Hypothetical example: comparing what each route permits
Hypothetical example: a spouse holds a U.S. offer of her own while the other spouse may enter first through a work transfer, and the household plans a single move date around the transfer. The comparison worth making sets out what each route permits and when. A dependent route may allow her to work once the qualifying status and appropriate evidence exist, on a timetable she does not control. An independent case would rest on her own offer and its own requirements, and could permit her to start earlier or later depending on the route. Describe both opportunities honestly, identify what each approach permits, and plan the consequences of changing from one to the other after arrival.
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.