A purchase does not authorize US work. Assess the spouse’s actual permission and duties.
Keep the transition plan lawful
Qualifying E spouses may work incident to appropriate status with evidence. Pending preparation or unpaid customer assistance is not automatically authorized.
A relative's existing ownership stake in the U.S. business does not itself grant the investor's own spouse or children any status; each household member's own citizenship, relationship and intended activity still needs individual review, separate from the relative's ownership interest. A spouse's ability to work is a separate question from the investor's ability to operate the enterprise, and a shared business plan does not automatically create identical permissions for everyone in the household. Children stop qualifying as derivatives at twenty-one, and a treaty investment can run for many years, so a family with a teenager should assume that a separate status will eventually be needed and plan the timing rather than react to it. If the investor plans U.S. development work, assess the necessary work authorization separately; owning or transferring intellectual property does not grant permission to perform that work in the United States. Applying later keeps the Canadian employment uncomplicated, but the spouse's eligibility is then reviewed against circumstances that will have changed, including the principal's status at that time, which must still be valid for a dependent to derive from it.