Most important thing to consider is whether or not you son is considered a resident alien for income tax purposes when the distribution occurred. In the document link you provided, If he is under a student visa, he may be an exempt person meaning that he is a non-resident alien for income tax purposes. In the document link it states, "a subscriber or contributor to an RESP is not a U.S. person, "as they are generally not subject to U.S. tax (even though from a U.S. tax perspective, the RESP is a foreign grantor trust with respect to these non-U.S. persons)"
The document further states that a US person (resident alien), "if the beneficiaries of the RESP are U.S. persons or your spouse, the RESP will continue to be a foreign grantor trust to you and you will continue to be subject to tax on the income".
Hope this helps!!
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