TD status does not permit employment, although TD dependants may study. A benefit approval does not change that.
Review the spouse’s intended activity
Identify any independent lawful work option. Pending family preparation or an unpaid role does not automatically provide permission.
Work performed physically in Canada is not US employment and does not require TN status, but it changes the record: the applicant becomes an existing employee whose US entry must be as a TN professional, not a visitor. The location of the person doing the work is what matters, so a drafting practice operated from a house in an American county is employment in the United States and TD does not permit it. 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. An eligible spouse or unmarried child under 21 may seek TD, but a spouse's proposed work in the United States requires a separate work-authorized route or classification, not an assumption based on the principal applicant's status. Decide before travel whether the spouse will refrain from employment or seek an independently available authorization, and do not let an employer’s preferred start date answer that legal question. If the spouse has a genuine job offer, review a separate immigration category and its timing rather than describing productive services as casual remote assistance.