Read the general life across the border overview
Hypothetical example: a Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury landscape architect is offered a position with a Utah resort-planning firm, a listed profession she qualifies for with her degree and Canadian citizenship. Her husband is a certified ski instructor who assumes he can teach at a nearby resort each winter; their daughter is eighteen and finishing cégep, their son is twelve. TN solves her case. TD status for the others allows study and nothing more, so the husband's winters and the daughter's plans each need a separate answer before the family commits.
The husband cannot work in TD, so decide what he does instead
TD status carries no employment authorization, and seasonal ski instruction at a U.S. resort is employment however casual the arrangement. His options are to accept a winter without teaching, to seek a status of his own, or to explore whether a U.S. resort would sponsor him under a category that fits seasonal work. Ski instruction is not an Appendix 2 profession, so TN is closed to him regardless of his certifications. Any decision should be made before he tells a resort he is available, because working without authorization would damage his and possibly her future admissions. Passive activity, such as owning a rental property in Québec managed by others, is a different question and can be reviewed separately.
The daughter's age makes her the most time-sensitive person in the file
At eighteen she is eligible for TD as an unmarried child under 21 and may study at a Utah college in that status, but she cannot work, even on campus, and her TD eligibility ends on her twenty-first birthday. If she finishes cégep in Québec first, she can join later in TD or apply for a student status of her own, which would allow certain on-campus employment and would not expire at 21. Compare the two paths on cost, on what she wants to study and on where she intends to be at 21, and record each person's citizenship, birth certificate and relationship proof separately. The twelve-year-old's position is simple: TD, school, and a review before he approaches the same age.
Build her TN file so that it is not carrying the family's assumptions
Her case rests on the Landscape Architect entry, met by her degree, and on an employer letter describing site planning, grading design and planting design for resort projects rather than general project coordination. She applies at a port of entry or by petition as a Canadian citizen without a visa stamp, disclosing any practice she owns. Her employer support letter should remain focused on her TN employment and qualifications; her husband's intended work and her daughter's plans are separate matters that must be resolved and disclosed truthfully whenever a form or officer asks. Timing the family's arrival in stages, with her first and the others once their questions are settled, is often the cleanest sequence.
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.