Not automatically. Deposits are money owed back as future work, so an assessment looks at what you irrevocably put into the U.S. enterprise and placed at commercial risk. Purchase price, assumed liabilities, and the deposit balance are separate figures; present all three rather than a single headline number.
Decide which number you will present as invested capital
Work through the closing statement line by line: cash paid, financed portion, assumed payables, and the deposit liability carried over. If the seller consumed deposits before closing, the buyer funds delivery from new capital, which is a real commitment but must be evidenced. Substantiality is judged against the cost of this particular business, not a fixed dollar threshold, so the reasoning behind each figure matters more than its size.
Treaty enterprise nationality and the applicant’s ability to develop and direct remain separate requirements. Explain the applicant’s own ownership, direction, capital and nonmarginal business capacity. The enterprise must be at least fifty percent owned by treaty nationals, the capital must be irrevocably committed and at risk, the investment must be substantial in proportion to the cost of the business, and the enterprise must not be marginal.
A lease can create a longer financial exposure than a purchase, because the obligation continues whether or not the business succeeds.