Read the general life across the border overview
Hypothetical example: A Torbay household in which one spouse is a physiotherapist and the other a registered nurse, with children aged 8 and 12, should plan for two TN principals rather than one principal and one dependant, because a TD spouse cannot work and both professions are listed. Each spouse needs their own U.S. employer, credential and application; the children accompany either parent as TD dependants and may attend school. Two applications double the paperwork but give the household two incomes and two independent statuses.
Why one principal is the wrong shape
Hypothetical example: the physiotherapist receives the first offer, from a U.S. rehabilitation clinic, and the household assumes the nurse will follow as a TD dependant and find work later. TD permits residence and study, not employment, so the nurse could not work until obtaining TN through a separate employer-filed Form I-129 change-of-status petition or, after departing the United States, a port-of-entry application supported by a U.S. employer's letter. Planning two principals from the start avoids a period in which the nurse is idle. Physiotherapist and Registered Nurse are both Appendix 2 professions: Physical Therapist is qualified by a baccalaureate or Licenciatura degree or a state or provincial licence, and Registered Nurse by a state or provincial licence or a Licenciatura degree.
Two applications, two sets of documents
Each spouse builds a separate file: Canadian passport, the credential the entry requires, an employer letter naming the profession and describing professional duties, and the state licensing position for the employer's state. For the nurse, U.S. law also requires a health-care worker certification for foreign-educated nurses and a state nursing licence or endorsement, both of which take time and should be started as soon as the offer is credible. For the physiotherapist, state licensure similarly governs the start date. The two admissions are independent: one spouse may be admitted and begin work while the other's licence is still pending, and the second spouse may enter as a TD dependant temporarily and then apply for their own TN once employment is arranged.
The children, the school year and the two statuses
The children, at 8 and 12, are TD dependants of whichever parent they accompany, may attend school, and are years away from the 21 cut-off. Choose the parent whose TN is more secure as the one the children's TD status follows, since a dependant's status ends when the principal's employment ends; if that parent's job ended, the children would need to be re-documented as dependants of the other. School enrolment should follow admission, not precede it, and the family should treat the school start date as negotiable. Both TN statuses are temporary and renewable; neither leads to permanent residence, and if the household later wants that, it will need an immigrant route pursued separately, at which point each child's age would be assessed under the Child Status Protection Act.
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.