TD status does not authorize the spouse’s employment. The principal’s hours do not change that rule.
Build a separate income plan
Identify any independent work-authorized option on its own merits. Do not assume temporary, unpaid or Canadian-client activity performed in the United States is automatically permitted.
Households sometimes assume that dependent restrictions soften with time, that a spouse who has lived in a community for three years acquires some entitlement to work there, or that a long-settled teenager can take a part-time job like their classmates. The TD category exists to keep families together; it does not carry work authorization, and the question of whether an activity is employment is answered by what the person does, not by where the employer is incorporated or which bank pays the salary. The first review should produce a household plan that names the principal route and every separate work, study, or travel question.; each conclusion should point to the record that settles it. Start the spouse's assessment first where the household's finances depend on the second income, because it is the longer and less predictable of the two enquiries and it may return an answer that changes the whole plan. A dependent who is not a Canadian citizen may need to obtain a TD visa before travelling, while a Canadian citizen dependent generally seeks admission directly, so confirm the applicable procedure person by person instead of inferring it from the principal's route.