Not in TD status, which carries no work authorisation at any stage. She may live in the United States and may study there, and the children may attend school, but any employment requires a status of her own that permits it.
TD covers residence and study, and stops there
Derivative TD status exists only while Damien holds TN and confers no permission to work. That restriction is broader than families expect: it catches a local job, freelance work, and continuing to work remotely for a Nova Scotia employer while physically in the United States. On an eighteen-month project the loss of a second income is a household planning problem rather than a legal one, and it is better modelled before anyone signs a lease.
Two further details decide who is covered. The relationship must be a legally recognised marriage, so a common-law partner is not a spouse for this purpose and needs a separate route. A child stops qualifying for TD at twenty-one, which matters to any household with a teenager approaching that birthday.
Where the second income is essential rather than useful, it is worth comparing the L and E categories, in which a spouse is employment-authorised incident to status.
- USCIS: TN NAFTA Professionals
- U.S. Department of State: USMCA professional workers
- Department of State: 9 FAM 402.17, TN and TD guidance
- eCFR: 8 CFR 214.6, Citizens of Canada or Mexico seeking temporary entry as business persons
- USTR: Agreement between the United States, Mexico, and Canada
- USCIS: Form G-1055, Fee Schedule