Yes, generally. If the profession match is uncertain, avoid finalizing school enrollment, housing, or a spouse's own plans around a start date that assumes TN is confirmed. A credential mismatch can take real time to resolve or may not resolve at all, so household planning should track the eligibility assessment rather than run ahead of it.
Keep household planning tied to the eligibility answer
A credential gap is not just the applicant's issue; it affects the whole household's timeline. Discuss with the family what the range of possible outcomes looks like, from a straightforward match to a fundamental mismatch requiring a different plan, before committing to irreversible steps such as ending a lease or a spouse resigning from current work. Revisit the household timeline once the credential question is actually resolved.
It is worth naming the two outcomes the household should prepare for. In the first, the credential matches and planning resumes on a normal footing. In the second, it does not, and the family is choosing between a different route, a different role, or staying.
Those outcomes have different timelines, and a household that has thought about both is not making decisions under pressure when the answer arrives. Note as well that dependents in this category hold TD status, which carries no work authorization, so a spouse's own employment plans need a separate basis and should not be built around the principal's start date in any event.