Read the general life across the border overview
Hypothetical example: a Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade college instructor accepts a two-year TN post at a U.S. community college. She lives with her partner of nine years, a licensed practical nurse, and his twelve-year-old daughter from an earlier relationship. They have never married, which is decisive for U.S. immigration. TD status is for a spouse and unmarried children under 21 of the TN principal; a de facto partner is not a spouse, and the partner's child is not her stepchild. This guide sets out the household's real options before anyone resigns from a job.
The TD definition is marriage, not cohabitation
The TN regulation admits the spouse and unmarried minor children of the professional in TD status. U.S. immigration law recognizes a spouse only through a legally valid marriage; a Québec de facto union, however long, is not one. Her partner therefore cannot be admitted in TD status on the strength of their relationship, and his daughter cannot either, because a stepchild relationship in U.S. immigration law also arises only through a marriage, and only if the marriage occurred before the child turned 18. If the couple marries before the move, all of this changes: he becomes her TD spouse and, because the child is twelve, the daughter becomes her stepchild and a TD dependant as well. Marriage is the couple's own decision, but its immigration effect should be understood.
The unmarried partner's honest alternatives
State Department guidance recognizes cohabiting partners of long-term nonimmigrants as potential B-2 visitors, subject to the residence-abroad and no-work conditions and admission periods that may need extension. It permits presence, not employment, and each applicant must independently qualify for B-2 classification. As a licensed practical nurse he cannot use TN, because the listed profession is Registered Nurse; licensed practical nursing is not on the list. His independent routes are a U.S. employer's petition in a classification open to any nationality, further education in student status, or qualifying as a registered nurse with the required credential and licensure and then applying for his own TN. His daughter would need her own B-2 visa and admission if she accompanies him; B-2 has no derivative status, and her schooling must be assessed under the rules for the status she actually obtains.
What each person may do on arrival
If they marry: he holds TD status, may study, including nursing coursework, and may not work; the daughter attends school in TD status; both statuses end when the instructor's TN ends, and the daughter's would end at 21 in any case. If they do not marry: the instructor enters in TN status alone or with the partner as a B-2 visitor, and the household budget rests on her college salary. In neither case may he take shifts at a U.S. care facility. The instructor's own file should not mention the partner beyond what is asked, because his status is a separate question with its own application. Plan school enrolment, health insurance and travel dates for each person on the status that person will actually hold.
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.