Identity and immigration-history records for both spouses, evidence of the lawful origin of the funds for the gift and fee, marriage and birth certificates for any dependants, and a dated copy of the official program terms.
Prepare for vetting and for the immigrant-visa stage
The official page describes an application, a processing fee, a vetting stage and then the gift, followed by the immigrant-visa or adjustment steps. The documents an applicant should expect to need are therefore of two kinds. For vetting: passports, her Canadian permanent-resident card and the record of her admission to Canada, any prior U.S. visas, entries or refusals, police certificates from countries of residence as they are required at the immigrant-visa stage, and a clear explanation of the source of the money for the gift, which for this couple is the rental business’s retained earnings and distributions, supported by financial statements and personal tax returns. For the immigrant-visa stage: marriage certificate, birth certificates, medical examinations by a designated physician and the forms and fees the State Department and USCIS require, all of which are published in their own schedules. Keep a dated printout of the official page and FAQ, and provide certified English translations of French-language documents.
A first document review should separate identity records from evidence explaining the applicant’s control and lawful source of the payment. The bank trail and underlying business or sale records settle the source question more reliably than a balance confirmation. Hypothetical example: an orthodontic-laboratory owner plans to use retained earnings for the payment. Corporate financial statements, tax returns, dividend resolutions and transfers into a personal account should be arranged in date order. The applicant, not an employer or relative, must make the payment to the U.S. government under the program terms; it is not a conventional visa filing.