It can, and the risk is measurable in advance. Two things are tested: whether treaty nationals still hold at least 50 percent of the enterprise, and whether the investor still develops and directs it. Model the post-sale percentages and control rights first; a signed deal is far harder to unwind than a draft.
Test the deal against both ownership and control
Run the numbers with the buyer's actual citizenship, not their residence, and include any entity layered above the operating company. Then read the control terms: a buyer holding forty percent with consent rights over budgets and key hires may leave the investor directing very little. Where the commercial deal and the immigration plan pull apart, counsel has to reconcile the obligations; there is no rule that a smaller stake is automatically fatal or automatically acceptable.
At least 50% relevant treaty-national ownership, qualifying applicant nationality and development and direction remain necessary. Only if the buyer will genuinely develop and direct the enterprise. Control is proved by ownership percentage or by documented operational authority. Sequence ownership before capital: a substantial payment cannot overcome a treaty-nationality problem. If a U.S. partner or the seller retains a stake or a veto, obtain the agreement and check whether it undermines control; a seller with the right to approve major decisions during an earn-out period can do exactly that.