Read the general life across the border overview
Hypothetical example: a Kent dairy-nutrition consultant with an animal-science degree holds a TN-eligible offer, but her partner, a herdsperson without a listed profession, cannot work as a TD dependant. The household's real decision is whether one income is enough, whether the partner has a route of his own, or whether a different category for the consultant—one whose dependants may work—changes the answer. Each adult's activity is assessed separately, and the children's ages set a clock of their own.
What each dependant status permits
The dependant categories differ sharply. A TD spouse of a TN professional may live in the United States and study but has no employment authorization, and no employer, agricultural or otherwise, may lawfully hire him. An L-2 spouse of an L-1 transferee is employment-authorized incident to status and may take any job. An E-2 spouse is likewise employment-authorized incident to status. Children in every category may attend school but may not work, and derivative status for children ends at twenty-one or on marriage. For the Kent household this means the consultant's TN offer gives her partner presence but not income, whereas a transfer or an investment by either adult would give him the right to work. That difference is often worth more than the salary gap between two job offers.
Does the partner have a route of his own?
Work through his facts rather than his hopes. TN requires a listed profession and its own credential; herd management is not listed, and years of experience do not substitute for the degree most listed professions require. If he holds an unrelated degree in a listed field, that changes the analysis and should be checked against the profession's criterion. L-1 requires a year inside a corporate group that has a U.S. affiliate; a family dairy that is not part of such a group offers nothing here. E-2 requires capital he is prepared to place at risk in a U.S. business he will direct, and Canadian citizenship. If none fits, the honest conclusion is that he cannot work in the United States until something changes, and the household should plan on that rather than on an informal arrangement that would endanger both their statuses.
Children, citizenship and timing
A child's eligibility follows the child's own facts: age under twenty-one, unmarried, and the same category as the parent. A nineteen-year-old who stays in Kent to finish a program and joins later must still be under twenty-one and unmarried when he applies, and he cannot work in TD status at any age. Confirm each family member's citizenship separately, because a partner or child who holds permanent residence rather than Canadian citizenship needs a visa issued abroad for any category and cannot use the port-of-entry process reserved for Canadians. Sequence the moves so nobody arrives before their status permits their plans: the consultant enters on TN, the partner and children follow on TD, and any independent application the partner makes is filed on its own facts and timeline.
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.