TD Spouse or Child of a USMCA Professional
TD is the derivative status for the spouse and unmarried children under 21 of a TN professional from Canada or Mexico. It permits study but no work, which is the biggest single reason families choose H-1B or L-1 over TN when they have the option. Canadian citizen dependants do not need a TD visa; everyone else does.
- Duration
- No longer than the period granted to the principal TN nonimmigrant, which is up to three years per admission.
- Extensions
- Extend alongside the principal. Where the TN employer files Form I-129 for the principal, TD dependants inside the United States file Form I-539. Where the principal departs and reapplies at the border, the family reapplies at the same time.
- Work
- No. TD dependants may not work in the United States and there is no EAD route. Study at any level is permitted. A spouse who needs to work must qualify for their own status, whether their own TN, an H-1B, an L-1 or F-1 with practical training.
- Dual intent
- false - TD follows TN, which is a strictly temporary status. Pursuing permanent residence undermines the whole family's position at the border and the consulate.
- Dependents
- Not applicable. TD is itself the derivative classification.
- Path to a green card
- No independent route, and TN's single-intent character makes the derivative position worse rather than better. Families who intend to settle normally move the principal to H-1B or L-1 first, which converts the dependants to H-4 or L-2, both of which are more permissive and, in L-2's case, work authorised.
- Processing time
- Canadian dependants are admitted the same day at the border. Non-Canadian dependants wait for a consular interview, which since the October 2025 rollback and the July 2026 residence guidance means applying at their own country's post rather than the nearest convenient one. Form I-539 extensions run several months at USCIS.
Who qualifies
- Legally married spouse of a TN nonimmigrant, including same-sex spouses
- Unmarried children under 21 of a TN nonimmigrant
- Family of any nationality, not only Canadians and Mexicans, since TD is relationship-based rather than citizenship-based
- Family accompanying the TN professional, or following to join later
Requirements
- The TN principal must hold or be applying for valid TN status
- Proof of the qualifying relationship: marriage certificate or birth certificate
- Family joining later must show the principal's valid Form I-94 evidencing that TN status is being maintained
- The TN principal must show the ability to support the family financially in the United States
- Canadian citizen dependants need no TD visa but must satisfy CBP port of entry requirements
- Non-Canadian dependants, including Mexican citizen family members, must obtain TD visas at a consular post
- A Canadian living outside Canada with a non-Canadian spouse or children needs a TN visa, not just port of entry admission, so the family can get derivative TD visas
How to apply
- 1
Confirm the TN principal's status and get a copy of their Form I-94 and employer letter
- 2
Canadian citizen dependants present proof of citizenship and the relationship documents to CBP at a port of entry
- 3
Non-Canadian dependants complete Form DS-160, pay the $185 MRV fee and interview at a post in their country of nationality or residence
- 4
Bring the marriage certificate or birth certificates and evidence the principal can support the family
- 5
Where the principal is a Canadian living outside Canada with non-Canadian family, get a TN visa rather than relying on port of entry admission so the family can get TD visas
- 6
Enrol children in school, which is permitted on TD
- 7
File Form I-539 when the principal extends, or reapply at the border together
- 8
Plan a separate status for a spouse who needs to work
Fees and forms
| MRV nonimmigrant visa application fee, non-petition-based tier | $185 per non-Canadian dependant |
| TD visa for a Canadian citizen dependant | No visa required; CBP port of entry requirements apply |
| Form I-539 to extend TD status inside the United States | $470 paper, $420 online |
| Public Law 119-21 visa integrity fee | $250 statutory minimum; absent from the State Department fee schedule as of September 2026, so collection is unverified |
What changed in 2025 and 2026
- Oct. 1, 2025: the interview waiver rollback announced Sept. 18, 2025 took effect and superseded the July 25, 2025 guidance. Almost every nonimmigrant applicant now needs an in-person interview. The standing carve-outs are A-1, A-2, C-3 other than personal staff, G-1 through G-4, NATO-1 through NATO-6, TECRO E-1, diplomatic and official visas, and 12-month renewals of B-1/B-2, Mexican border crossing cards and H-2A. Waiver-eligible applicants must also apply in their country of nationality or residence, must never have been refused a visa unless overcome or waived, and must have no apparent ineligibility. The old under-14 and over-79 age exemptions were abolished. No further update has issued as of September 2026.
- July 15, 2026: State told nonimmigrant applicants to interview in their country of nationality or residence, or at the designated processing post if their country has no routine operations. Applying elsewhere is allowed but harder to qualify, the MRV fee is non-refundable and non-transferable, and waits are much longer. A, G, C-2, C-3, NATO and diplomatic applicants are exempt. Mixed-nationality TN families now have to interview at different posts, which complicates travelling together.
- Jan. 1, 2026: Presidential Proclamation 10998, signed Dec. 16, 2025, took effect at 12:01 a.m. EST and replaced Proclamation 10949 (signed June 4, 2025, effective June 9, 2025). It fully suspends visa issuance to nationals of 19 countries - Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - plus holders of Palestinian Authority travel documents, across every nonimmigrant and immigrant category. It only reaches people who were outside the United States and held no valid visa at 12:01 a.m. EST on Jan. 1, 2026; no earlier-issued visa was revoked under it. Where a TD dependant holds the nationality of one of the 19 fully suspended countries, the full suspension applies even though the TN principal is Canadian or Mexican.
- July 4, 2025: Public Law 119-21 added non-waivable immigration surcharges on top of normal filing fees. The ones that touch nonimmigrants are the Form I-94 fee, held at $24 for FY 2026, the parole fee, adjusted to $1,020 for FY 2026, parolee EAD surcharges of $560 initial and $280 renewal, and a statutory visa integrity fee of at least $250 on nonimmigrant visa issuance. The $250 visa integrity fee is enacted but unverified as collected: it appears nowhere on the State Department fee schedule as of September 2026 and no implementing rule has published.
- Current USCIS fee schedule, Form G-1055 edition 05/29/26: Form I-539 is $470 on paper and $420 online.
- Aug. 18, 2026: the $750 nonimmigrant visa expedited appointment pilot launched at Mission Canada, and from July 21, 2026 at Mission Mexico, but it is limited to B-1/B-2 applicants and does not help TD applicants.
Where it goes wrong
- Assuming TD spouses can work. They cannot, in any circumstances.
- A Canadian TN professional living outside Canada with a non-Canadian family, who takes port of entry admission and then cannot get TD visas for the family.
- TD dependants of a nationality caught by the January 2026 travel ban, even where the principal is not.
- Failing to bring the principal's Form I-94 when the family follows to join later.
- A TD child turning 21 with no derivative status left.
- Not budgeting for the fact that the whole family is on a single-intent status, so a green card filing exposes everyone.
- Letting TD status lapse behind the principal's, which happens when the principal renews at the border and the family does not travel.
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