The seller's business tax returns and payroll for recent years, a purchase agreement with escrow terms, a business plan with month-by-month projections, and evidence of the buyer's horticultural and business background. The file must show a going concern that supports more than the buyer's family.
Prove the business is real across all four seasons
A consular officer reviewing a seasonal retail business wants to see that it operates and employs people year-round or that its annual results support employees and profit beyond a minimal living for the investor. Collect the seller's federal and state tax returns for the last three years, quarterly payroll filings showing seasonal and permanent staff, the lease or deed for the premises, equipment lists and inventory records. Prepare a business plan that explains the off-season: landscape design contracts signed in winter for spring installation, greenhouse propagation, holiday sales, snow-related services if genuine.
The projections should be tied to the historical figures rather than invented. Add the buyer's own background evidence: his Canadian nursery's financial statements, evidence of his horticultural qualification or experience, and any trade licences. Include the source-of-funds trail showing each dollar moving from his Canadian accounts to the escrow, and the shareholder agreement that fixes control.
The application forms for the treaty-investor visa call for much of this information in a structured way; the supporting documents should match those entries exactly.