Only if it actually employs at least ten qualifying full-time workers and can prove it at the second stage. A direct investment generally has to create jobs at the enterprise itself rather than relying on jobs counted through a pooled project's methodology.
Model the payroll before buying the business
Ten full-time positions is a serious threshold for a professional practice, and the arithmetic should be done before a purchase rather than after. Full-time has a defined meaning in terms of hours, and part-time roles cannot simply be added together unless a permitted job-sharing arrangement applies. The positions must be for qualifying U.S.
workers, which excludes the investor and certain family members. The evidence at the second stage is ordinary payroll documentation, so the plan has to survive contact with real hiring, real wages and real turnover. Where the model only reaches ten by counting contractors, seasonal help or optimistic growth, that is a signal to reconsider the structure.
An investor who wants to run a business but cannot reach the threshold may find the treaty investor route a better fit, with different consequences.