Read the general life across the border overview
Derivative status for children ends at twenty-one, and the rules for stopping the clock differ by route. Hypothetical example: a farming couple from the Rural Municipality of Sherwood is planning a U.S. move with a twenty-year-old son who works on the operation and hopes to keep working. On a nonimmigrant route such as TN or L-1 he cannot work as a dependant and will lose derivative status on his birthday; on EB-5 the Child Status Protection Act may preserve his place. The order of steps should be chosen with his birthday on the calendar.
Know which routes stop the clock and which do not
For nonimmigrant dependants, TD and L-2 status is available to unmarried children under twenty-one and simply ends when the child reaches that age; there is no protection. For immigrant routes such as EB-5, the Child Status Protection Act subtracts the time the parent's petition was pending from the child's age when a visa becomes available, so a son who is twenty at filing may still qualify after his birthday if the petition took long enough to adjudicate and he seeks the visa within a year of availability. The family should have the calculation run on actual dates rather than assuming. If the parents are choosing between a nonimmigrant transfer now and an immigrant petition later, the son's age may be the deciding factor, since the transfer would leave him without status at twenty-one while the petition might carry him through.
Give the son his own route if he wants to work
No dependant status permits the son to work, and he cannot help on a U.S. farm or ranch as a TD or L-2 child. If working is his priority, he needs his own basis: a TN position if he holds a listed qualification, which for most twenty-year-olds he will not; a student status if he enrols in a U.S. program; or, once the family's immigrant petition is approved and residence granted, unrestricted work as a permanent resident. The practical sequence for a family choosing EB-5 is to file early enough that the protection applies, keep him unmarried and in Canada or in a lawful status until the visa is available, and accept that he will not work in the United States during the wait. For a family choosing TN or L-1, the honest answer is that he should plan his own life in Canada or find an independent U.S. status.
Order the documents and the departures
Start with the records that fix each person's facts: passports, birth certificates showing the parent-child relationship, the marriage certificate, and for the son a statement of his marital status. Then map the dates: the parents' filing date, the son's twenty-first birthday, the expected processing time and the Visa Bulletin availability. Where the parents will travel first on a nonimmigrant status, decide whether the son should come as a dependant for the short period before his birthday or remain in Canada; a dependant admission that expires on his birthday must be followed by departure or a change of status, and staying past it creates problems for any later immigrant case. Keep the son's file separate, because his eligibility will be assessed separately, and revisit the plan whenever a date moves.
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.