Read the general life across the border overview
Derivative status ends at 21 in every category discussed here, and a child on TD, L-2 or E-2 dependant status does not become independent by wishing. A Lévis household with a child near that age should plan the transition eighteen months ahead: what status the child will hold, whether it allows study or work, and how the change fits the principal's own timeline. TD spouses cannot work; L-2 and E-2 spouses can, incident to status. Each person's activity, not the family's, decides the route.
Start from what each person will actually do
Hypothetical example: a Lévis welding supervisor takes a three-year TN position at a U.S. shipyard. His spouse, an accountant, wants to work; their daughter is nineteen and mid-way through a CEGEP-equivalent programme she hopes to finish in the United States. On TD the spouse may not work at all, so her plan needs its own TN analysis, for instance whether her accounting credential and a U.S. employer's offer fit the accountant listing. The daughter may study on TD until she turns 21, after which TD is no longer available to her. Three people, three questions, and only one of them is settled by the shipyard's letter.
Sequence the child's change of status before the birthday
A change to student status must be applied for and in place before the derivative status ends, and it requires an admission to a school authorised to enrol international students and proof of funds. Working backward from the twenty-first birthday, the daughter needs the admission letter and the school's immigration document several months earlier, and the change-of-status filing before the birthday with a margin for processing. If timing does not allow, leaving and re-entering in the new status is an alternative that counsel can assess. Letting TD lapse on the birthday and applying afterward is the sequence that creates problems.
Tie the household plan to the principal's real horizon
TN is granted in periods of up to three years and can be extended while the professional work continues, but it does not lead to permanent residence by itself, and the spouse's TD work restriction does not ease with time. If the spouse cannot find a route of her own, the household's economics change, and that should be known before the move rather than discovered in month six. Keep everyone's passports and civil documents together, record each birth date against the age-out line, and write down which commitments, such as the daughter's tuition deposit and the spouse's resignation from her Lévis firm, wait for which decision.
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.