TD does not authorize employment, and a foreign payment destination does not itself permit work performed in the United States. Assess the actual planned activity and any separate authorization.
Separate the spouse’s work from the principal’s profession
TD can cover an eligible spouse or unmarried child under 21 and permits study, but it does not share the principal’s TN work permission. Describe report writing, remote services or other proposed work honestly rather than relying on an informal family-assistance label. The spouse’s own engineering qualifications do not create work authorization.
Nothing prevents two people in the same household from each holding TN status, provided each independently meets the requirements: Canadian or Mexican citizenship, a qualifying listed profession, the credential that profession accepts, and prearranged professional employment for temporary entry. Practical options include the spouse pursuing an independent status, planning for a defined period on one income, or comparing classifications whose dependent status authorizes employment incident to status. TD status carries no work authorization at any point, so a partner holding it cannot take American employment, freelance, or continue working remotely for a Canadian employer from inside the country.