A spouse in TD status cannot work. The principal’s work permission does not extend to the spouse, even when the employer helps arrange the move.
Separate relocation support from work permission
List the spouse’s planned activities and the status actually proposed. TD permits study, but an employment offer or foreign payroll does not make work from the United States permissible. An independent work route needs its own assessment. Review any unpaid activity on its facts rather than assuming that absence of salary either resolves or automatically prohibits it.
For TN, establish Canadian or Mexican citizenship, a listed professional role, the matching qualifications, a real prearranged engagement, and a temporary purpose. A Canadian applicant may seek classification during entry inspection or use the employer-petition route; the choice changes the sequence but not the governing facts. The arrangement cannot amount to the applicant running their own U.S. employment through an entity they control. Hypothetical example: a conservation biologist’s spouse plans to continue operating an Ontario graphic-design practice from the couple’s U.S. apartment. The household should decide before travel whether the spouse will only study or needs an independent status that permits the proposed work. A TD dependent classification does not convert remote invoices into permitted work. The relevant records are the spouse’s planned activities, client obligations, and the selected status document.
Before the chosen process begins, put that conclusion beside the supporting record and reconcile any conflict in the offer, scope of work, or ownership papers. A persuasive plan cannot substitute for the fact those records establish.