Not automatically. Paying for a search engagement does not by itself demonstrate commitment of substantial capital to a specific U.S. enterprise. Review the services provided and their connection to the eventual acquisition to determine treatment of the actual expenditure. Turn the question around: what would the money have to buy for it to count? Capital irrevocably committed to a named, real and operating enterprise, at risk of loss, and substantial relative to that enterprise’s cost. A search fee meets none of those tests on the day it is paid.
Test the spending against a named enterprise
Substantiality is measured relative to the cost of the particular business, so a figure means little until a target exists. When candidates appear, ask which of the anticipated costs would be presented as investment and which are ordinary preparation expenses. There is no universal minimum dollar amount and no fixed job-creation number.
The useful outcome here is a shortlist worth analyzing, not a conclusion that the retainer secured eligibility. Marginality is the test most often forgotten at this stage, and it belongs in the screening criteria given to the broker. An enterprise producing only enough to support the investor and family, without more, sits badly with this requirement.
Ask for candidate financials that show revenue, payroll and the owner’s draw separately, since a single profit figure hides exactly the thing being assessed.