TD status does not authorize employment. Increased workload does not provide the spouse with permission.
Assign work based on actual authorization
Review the spouse’s intended tasks and any independent lawful basis. Unpaid assistance or a short assignment is not automatically permitted.
The spouse and unmarried children under 21 of a TN professional may be admitted in TD status, which allows them to live in the United States and to study but not to work for anyone, including remotely for a Canadian employer while physically present. Review a child's school plans and age separately as well, and confirm whether the household is arriving together or in stages so each person's paperwork lines up with their actual plan. Consider whether the spouse might work remotely for a Canadian employer in the interim, and confirm separately whether that arrangement is workable while in the US on TD status, since remote work still raises its own questions. The family should document the marriage or parent-child relationship, passports, and the principal’s status, then identify where each spouse’s customers, duties, and business operations will be located. If the spouse is a Canadian citizen in a listed occupation, an independent professional route may be practical; a qualifying corporate group may create another option. If the spouse wants an independent professional route, assess their own citizenship, qualifications and offer rather than treating the principal’s TN case as covering both designers.