Read the general life across the border overview
A Frontenac Islands technician transferring under L-1B brings a household with three different answers. Her husband, who sells pottery he makes in a studio behind the house, is an L-2 spouse and employment-authorized incident to status. Their daughter, seventeen and in her final year of high school, is an L-2 child who may study but not work and who loses derivative status at 21. Her widowed father, who plans to spend winters with them, is not a derivative at all and enters as a visitor. Each person's activity determines their route.
The spouse: authorized, including self-employment
Hypothetical example: the Frontenac Islands potter assumes he must find a job to work lawfully. As an L-2 spouse his employment authorization arises from his status itself and is not tied to an employer, so he may set up a studio in the United States, sell at markets and take commissions. He should keep evidence of his status, such as the admission record annotated for L-2 spouses, since employers, banks and market organizers may ask for it. His authorization lasts as long as her L-1B status does, which is capped at five years, and it ends if the couple divorce. Income earned in the United States is taxable there, which is a matter for an accountant, not an immigration question.
The daughter: study now, plan for 21
The seventeen-year-old may enrol in a U.S. high school and later a college in L-2 status without a separate student visa, but she may not work, including summer jobs and campus employment. The planning question is her twenty-first birthday, which arrives within her mother's five-year L-1B period. Before that date she must have another status in place, usually F-1 if she is enrolled in college, applied for as a change of status from within the United States with enough lead time. If she instead returns to Canada for university, her L-2 status simply lapses and she may visit. The family should mark the date on the same calendar as the L-1B expiry.
The parent: a visitor with limits
Her father is not a dependant under any employment category, so his winters are visitor stays. As a Canadian citizen he does not need a visa and may generally be admitted for up to six months at a time, but repeated long stays can prompt questions about whether he is actually living in the United States, and he may not work or receive payment for anything he does there. He should be able to show ties to Canada, such as his island property and provincial health coverage, and should not stay so long that his Canadian residency for health or tax purposes is jeopardized. If the family wants him to move permanently, the only realistic sponsor is a U.S.-citizen child, which none of them is.
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.