Read the general life across the border overview
Hypothetical example: a Selwyn household plans a move where one spouse holds the qualifying offer, the other is a registered nurse who intends to keep working, and the elder child turns twenty-one within eighteen months. Three separate schedules are running, and only one of them belongs to the principal applicant.
Dependant status is not a work permit by default
What a spouse may do depends on the category. For TN, Canadian citizenship and Canadian permanent residence are separate facts; a PR card does not establish TN eligibility. A TD dependant accompanying a TN professional may live in the United States and may study, but may not work. An L-2 spouse is employment-authorized incident to status, and a qualifying E spouse likewise. In every one of these categories, dependent children may attend school but do not receive employment authorization through a parent's status. The point to settle early is what this particular spouse intends to do, because each family member's planned activity and status must be assessed on its own facts.
A licensed profession has a second gate
Immigration permission to work and a state regulator's permission to practise are separate things, and the second is frequently the slower. A registered nurse, a teacher, an engineer or a pharmacist moving from Ontario will face licensure requirements set by the destination state, which may include credential verification, examinations with limited sittings, and periods of supervised practice. A Selwyn household should start that enquiry at the same time as the immigration one, because a spouse who has work authorization but no licence cannot yet practise, and the gap between those two facts is often measured in months.
Children age out on a fixed date
Derivative eligibility for children generally ends at twenty-one, and the date does not move for the convenience of a process. In immigrant categories the Child Status Protection Act contains provisions that can affect how a child's age is calculated in certain circumstances, and visa availability influences the timeline that drives it. None of that is a substitute for planning. A household should mark each child's twenty-first birthday against the expected stages, identify where a problem would arise, and know in advance what that child's independent route would be — study, their own qualifying employment, or a different family-based option assessed on its own facts.
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.