The principal’s project does not confer work permission on a spouse. TD does not authorize employment; each family member needs an individual status assessment.
Separate affiliation from family permission
A spouse’s access to university facilities or possible employer introductions is not work authorization. Review the actual intended activity and status rather than assuming a household benefit follows the principal’s affiliation. The dependent framework generally covers a spouse and unmarried children under 21; each person must obtain and maintain the appropriate status.
TD status does not authorise employment in the United States, and remote work performed from inside the country raises questions that depend on the specific facts. The location of the person doing the work is what matters, so a drafting practice operated from a house in an American county is employment in the United States and TD does not permit it. A principal TN applicant must be a Canadian or Mexican citizen with prearranged work in a listed USMCA profession and the profession-specific qualification; Canadian permanent residence is a different status and does not create TN eligibility. TD dependants may enrol in study, full-time or part-time, but they may not accept employment in the United States, and no length of residence, no school enrolment and no employer goodwill alters that.