Before committing to a category, map each family member's status separately against what the route actually requires. A route that works for one spouse's profession or investment plan may not extend to a partner or child the way people assume. Comparing routes side by side, before signing anything, surfaces which category is even available and what still needs verification. Ages belong in that mapping alongside status and profession. Dependent classifications generally extend to a spouse and unmarried children under twenty-one, so a child's birthday is a fixed boundary no preparation moves, and it is frequently the earliest hard date in the whole household plan.
Build one profile per person, not one per household
TN eligibility turns on a specific listed profession and matching credentials for the principal applicant; it says nothing about a spouse's authorization to work. L1 depends on a qualifying corporate relationship and prior foreign employment in a qualifying role, not on income or intent alone. E2 depends on treaty nationality and a real, at-risk investment the applicant controls and directs, not on the spouse's nationality if it differs. Write a short profile for each person and test it against the category's actual requirements before assuming the household moves as one unit. Where more than one adult could be the principal, profile both before choosing rather than defaulting to whoever received an offer first. The choice determines whose credentials carry the case, which employer or enterprise the family depends on, and what the other adult may do, and it is far cheaper to make deliberately at the start than to revisit later. Keep the reasoning as well as the decision, since a change in either person's circumstances can make the alternative the better answer.
Separate dependent status from the principal's category
Qualifying E-2 and L-2 spouses are employment authorized incident to their valid spousal status; they do not need a separate Form I-765 approval to start work. TD status itself does not authorize employment. An unexpired Form I-94 marked E-2S or L-2S provides List C evidence of employment authorization for Form I-9 and must be paired with an acceptable List B identity document. A spouse may instead choose to apply for an EAD, but that application is optional. E-2 and L-2 dependent children do not receive employment authorization from those classifications. Check each family member’s actual status and evidence before employment begins. Confirm each person's evidence in the form it will actually be presented, not in principle, because that is where households lose weeks. After admission, retrieve and read the electronic admission record, check the classification and expiry against what was expected, and raise any discrepancy with counsel rather than with an employer who cannot resolve it. Keep the marriage certificate, birth records and any translations together, since relationship evidence supports the dependent applications themselves.
Sequence the decision instead of forcing an early choice
A first consultation should identify which categories are even structurally possible, then rank the open questions that block each one: an unverified job duty match for TN, an unconfirmed qualifying relationship for L1, or an investment amount and business plan still being finalized for E2. Immigrant routes carry their own separate timing and eligibility rules and should not be treated as a fallback layered on top of a temporary status without independent review. Resolve the biggest open question in each route before ruling any of them out. Hypothetical example: a household in which the spouse is an architect maps the principal's route carefully and leaves her position until after arrival. A first review would treat her authorization as a constraint on the whole plan rather than as a detail, since the family's second income and her professional registration both depend on it. Resolving the biggest open question in each route, including hers, before ruling any route out is what stops a household committing to a category that fails the person it was least worried about.
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.