TD does not authorize employment. Prior assistance in Canada does not decide permission for activity in the United States.
Review the actual proposed help
Identify the spouse’s tasks and any independent lawful work basis. An unpaid label or the principal’s existing relationship does not provide automatic authorization. TD dependants may study but may not work.
The relevant facts include where the work is physically performed, who the clients are, who pays, into which account payment is made, and whether the person is holding themselves out as available to United States customers. The remote-work question comes up constantly and the conservative reading is the one to plan around: the location of the person doing the work matters, so continuing a Canadian job from a kitchen table in the United States is not a safe workaround. 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. 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. Where a spouse's own career is central to the decision, it is worth comparing TN with categories whose spouses are employment-authorized incident to status, such as L-2 and E-2, before the household commits.