A spouse may want to assist with a business, join its board or accept a support job. The title and family relationship do not themselves establish permission to perform the activity. Record the actual duties, location and compensation and review the person’s status. A family plan should treat every proposed activity as a fact to verify, not a benefit assumed from the principal's case. Create a person-by-person table for relationship evidence, age, nationality, work, study, and planned dates. Hypothetical example: A data-privacy consultant receives an L-1 transfer, their spouse wants to fundraise for a U.S. nonprofit, and a nineteen-year-old child wants a paid campus job. The household must decide what each person's actual status permits. A dependent spouse's employment evidence may be an admission record, while a child does not receive matching permission merely through family membership. Before travel, each person should have a documented answer about the activity they intend to perform and the permission they rely on. When the answer is uncertain, the household must decide whether to postpone the activity or seek a separate lawful route. The household should decide whether any planned activity needs to be delayed while a separate authorization question is resolved. A written activity list can prevent an informal family arrangement from becoming a status problem. This record should be reviewed again whenever a proposed activity changes.
Apply the specific dependent rules
TD does not authorize employment. Qualifying E and L spouses may be authorized incident to status with the required evidence, while dependent children do not gain the same permission through those classifications. A pending principal application is not the relevant status. The concrete decision is whether an activity is genuinely covered by the individual's status. The first review should identify the record owner, the next step, and the consequence of leaving the point unresolved.
Assess relationships and ages accurately
Obtain the required identity and relationship records and review any specific age-protection issue in an immigrant case. Children generally age out at 21. Each person’s own intended activity determines the route and permission required. An ownership interest or willingness to pay additional investor amounts does not establish derivative eligibility. Describe volunteering, consulting, and family-business help honestly. The first review should identify the record owner, the next step, and the consequence of leaving the point unresolved.
Coordinate the arrival sequence
Identify each person’s actual procedure and documents. Derivative immigrants enter with or after the principal. Independent visits, employment or study need their own lawful basis and should not be assumed covered by the principal’s pending plan. Keep school, lease, and job logistics separate from immigration authorization. The first review should identify the record owner, the next step, and the consequence of leaving the point unresolved.
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.