Read the general life across the border overview
Begin with who may move, each person’s nationality and the work or study questions the household needs answered. A short factual outline is enough to orient the discussion. Do not send passports, relationship records or children’s identifying information through the public enquiry before the purpose and sharing process are clear. Circumstances move between the first conversation and any filing more often than not, so the outline produced at the start should be built to be updated rather than filed away. Agree at the outset which facts you will report back if they change — a birth, a marriage, a separation, a child’s birthday crossing a threshold, a new job for the spouse — and to whom they should go. A plan with no reporting channel goes stale quietly.
Give each person a separate line
Describe the proposed principal, spouse and children in general terms, including relevant age and nationality questions. Avoid assuming a shared Canadian address means shared citizenship or identical visa requirements. The outline should help identify the appropriate review while keeping sensitive information private until specific relevant supporting material is actually needed.
Name the decisions behind the move
List whether the spouse plans to work, whether children will study and whether everyone expects to travel together. Those details make the category differences practical: TD work restrictions differ from qualifying E-2 and L-2 spouse rules. The conversation should address the actual activities rather than treat accompanying family as a single checkbox.
Agree the next information request
Ask which relationship, status or travel facts need clarification and who should provide them. Record the relevant professional question before gathering documents. A free initial consultation can organize the next step, but it is not an approval of every person’s eligibility or a guarantee that the household can move on its preferred date.
The facts most likely to change
Between an initial review and a completed process, a small set of facts changes often enough to plan for. A child approaches an age limit or marries. A spouse receives an offer that would depend on work authorisation the household has not yet examined. A relative who was not part of the plan becomes part of it. Passport validity lapses, or a name changes and documents stop matching one another. Hypothetical example: a language-assessment services specialist and her partner outline a move on the basis that the partner will not work initially, then an offer arrives during preparation, which is a question about status rather than about the offer. None of these is unusual, and every one is cheaper to raise early than to discover at a counter.
How to report a change usefully
Updating a household spreadsheet is not notice to anybody. A useful report names the person, states what changed, gives the date it took effect, and asks one question: does this alter what has been submitted, or what we intend to submit? Send it to the professional holding the file rather than to whoever last replied, and send supporting civil documents only when asked and through a channel agreed for the purpose. Where a change affects one person only, say so, since it spares a re-examination of the whole family. And where you cannot tell whether something counts — a separation not yet formalised, an adult child moving out — report it anyway and let the assessment decide, because mentioning it costs one short message.
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.