Are tax returns/W-2s necessary? What happens to sensitive documents?

[Patriot6057]

We want to sponsor an Indian man for one month on a B2 this December.
1. To show our financial support to the consulate, we will send him:
- Affidavit of Support
- Employment Verification Letter
- Last 3 pay stubs
- Bank statements showing over $20,000
- Bank account verification letter
With all this documentation, is it really necessary to also provide tax returns/W-2s?
2. Are documents required to satisfy a specific checklist or to just generally show financial support?
3. What happens to financially sensitive documents? Are they destroyed by the consulate?
4. Will this be a red flag: Our 27-year-old daughter met this man when she was at a school in India for about 3 weeks. She was impressed with him (and she is not easily impressed) and has gotten to know him over the last several months through chat. We don't know him personally but have communicated with him by email. He is 30.
Thank you!

[immihelp]

If you are not comfortable sharing sensitive documents to any person, you should not sponsor him.

Consulate does not keep any of those documents. Neither they destroy them.

[Patriot6057]

tax returns

Thank you.

We very much would like to sponsor him without exposing our Social Security Numbers. Are tax returns required or just helpful?

[kabkaba]

Bank statements and affidavit of support is sufficient. Even that only needs to be produced if asked for during the interview.