TD does not authorize employment, including remote work while physically in the United States.
Review the spouse separately
A Canadian payroll does not create TD work permission. Children may study while maintaining applicable status but do not gain employment authorization solely through TD.
Build a dated review file around each dependent's passport, admission record, daily activity, school plans, and proposed paid work. Prepare a separate status-and-activity summary for the TN professional, spouse, and each child, noting missing passports or admission records. Its practical purpose is to decide whether an accompanying person's activity needs an independent status or work basis, rather than to collect papers with no stated issue. Hypothetical example: a hydrologist’s spouse plans to answer paid customer messages from a laptop while their child begins secondary school. Check the spouse’s paid messages and the child’s schooling separately against what TD permits, regardless of where wages originate. Verify every relative’s identity and relationship, identify the intended U.S. activity, and determine whether anyone needs another work-authorized classification. A recurring problem is assuming that a family move or foreign payroll gives every household member the principal's permission. TN is limited to a citizen of Canada or Mexico who has prearranged duties in a listed profession and meets that profession's rule. A Canadian can request admission during inspection or preclearance; an employer can also use an I-129 petition with USCIS. Neither procedure authorizes U.S. self-employment. Review the family plan again if the spouse accepts paid duties, a child approaches 21, or any dependent’s status record changes.