Identify the specific dates, accounts and transfers that the evidence needs to explain.
Target the factual gap
Seek genuine records and preserve the bank’s actual response. A request for a duplicate confirmation is not the confirmation itself, and a self-created substitute should not be represented as a bank-issued document.
Begin with a transfer map naming every account, date, amount, currency, sender, recipient, and missing record. Give the bank a narrow written request using its identifiers, asking for duplicate statements, wire advices, deposit images, or archival confirmation as applicable. Preserve the request, response, and any statement that records are unavailable; secondary evidence and an honest explanation may then be assessed without pretending they are bank originals. The complete file must still establish lawful source and path, the applicable US$1,050,000 amount or US$800,000 targeted-area or infrastructure level, investment risk, ten qualifying full-time jobs, and management or policy involvement. Use I-526 for direct investment and I-526E for a regional-center case. A vague request for “all old records” often misses the decisive transaction.
Hypothetical example: A metal-fabrication business owner near Larouche needs proof of a converted transfer that passed through a closed account. He sends the bank the account number, transfer date, currencies, amount, and beneficiary reference, requesting the debit advice and conversion record. The bank supplies one document and confirms the other is unavailable. He preserves both responses and builds a corroborated explanation around authentic tax and sale records.