After Approval

The approval notice is not the finish line.

USCIS approved your petition. That chapter is closed. Now comes the part no one prepared you for — the consulate, the DS-160, the paperwork, the appointment, the passport. A different process, entirely on your shoulders.
  1. i.A DS-160 form of 120 fields across 15 pages, and a system that does not forgive a single mistyped digit.
  2. ii.Consulate rules that change without notice, and differ from one consulate to another.
  3. iii.A calendar in which a slot that exists at 9:00 is gone by 9:05.
  4. iv.Weeks of watching an inbox, decoding each email, and guessing what the next step is.
Visa Processing — What We Do

We begin where your lawyer ends.

This is the Visa Processing stage of our practice — we do one thing and we do it right. We are not an immigration law firm and we do not draft petitions; if you need one, our Immigration Attorney Services can make the introduction. Once your petition is approved, we enter your file, and we leave it the day the visa is in your hand.
In scope
  • DS-160 preparation & filing
  • MRV & Appointment scheduling
  • Passport Retrieval
  • Secure courier to your hand
  • Arrival memo
Out of scope
  • Petition drafting
  • Interview coaching
  • Post-entry residency advisory
  • Tax, banking, legal advice
Why Clients Choose UVG

Every detail, owned by us.

This is how our practice differs from others — every step ours, never delegated.
  1. i. One flat fee

    One flat fee. No surprises.

    No hourly billing, no scope creep. Our fee is fixed before we start. Government fees are set by the U.S. government and can change — if they ever do, we tell you upfront.

  2. ii. One advisor

    A single person, start to finish.

    No account managers, no handoffs. The same name on your first call answers your last email.

  3. iii. On-time updates

    No silence.

    A one-line email every time your case moves — same day it happens. No portals, no status dashboards, no “circling back.”

  4. iv. Enterprise security

    Enterprise-grade security, by default.

    Your documents and case details are protected with bank-level encryption — the same standard trusted by financial institutions. No unauthorized access, no exceptions.

  5. v. Safe return

    Your passport, in our care.

    From the moment you leave your passport at the consulate, it’s in our care — watched over, retrieved the day it’s released, and returned to your hand. No mailroom, no third-party handlers in between.

  6. vi. Earliest appointment

    The earliest appointment, not the next one.

    We monitor consulate calendars around the clock. When a slot opens or a cancellation appears, we take it before someone else does — often weeks ahead of the standard wait.

Visa Processing

Visa processing, in four parts.

Once your petition is approved, these four parts run as a single engagement — not sold separately. The labels exist for the website; the work is continuous.
  1. i.

    Case intake & petition review

    The approval notice in hand, read line by line. Every supporting document mapped to the consular appointment to come.

  2. ii.

    DS-160 filing & fee remittance

    Drafted and verified by a named advisor. MRV and reciprocity fees handled within the same working day.

  3. iii.

    Appointment orchestration

    Priority slots at London, Mexico City, Frankfurt, Amsterdam — monitored, secured, reconfirmed, synced to your calendar.

  4. iv.

    Passport retrieval & return

    We monitor the consulate's channels for the passport-released notice — then guide every step to your hand, whether couriered to your door or collected by someone you nominate.

The Process

From a first call
to the passport in your hand.

Each step is owned by the same advisor. No handoffs, no account managers, no ticket queues. The timeframes below reflect our median cases in 2025.
  1. i
    Day 0 · 30 min

    Initial consultation

    A candid call. We review your approval notice, listen to your timeline, and tell you whether we can help.

  2. ii
    Day 1

    Case intake & review

    Your I-797, passport, supporting documents — read line by line by your named advisor.

  3. iii
    Day 2–3

    DS-160 filing & fees

    We draft, verify and submit your nonimmigrant application. The MRV fee is remitted on your behalf.

  4. iv
    Day 3–5

    Appointment secured

    We watch your consulate's calendar hour by hour and book the earliest viable slot — then reconfirm with you.

  5. v
    + 2–3 weeks

    Passport released

    After your interview, we monitor the consulate's channels for the passport-released notice and translate it into clear next steps.

  6. vi
    Final day · 24 hrs

    Arrival day

    We stay with you until the passport is in your hand — alongside a concise arrival memo for your travel.

Median engagement, approval to passport-in-hand — four to six weeks, depending on consulate and interview availability. Faster when windows permit; never rushed at the expense of accuracy.

Typical duration4 – 6 weeks

Frequently asked.

The questions our consultations most often begin with. If yours isn’t here, write to us directly.
  • Do you prepare visa petitions?
    No — we’re not a law firm. If you don’t already have immigration counsel, we can introduce you to one through Immigration Attorney Services; once your petition is approved and your I-797 is in hand, we take over for visa processing.
  • Will you prepare me for the consular interview?
    Interview preparation is a separate discipline, and not one we claim. We partner with an experienced interview coach — a former U.S. Consular Officer who conducted visa interviews for the State Department.
  • How long does the full process take?
    Four to six weeks is typical, from the day you sign with us to the day your passport is delivered. Consulate availability is the variable; everything else, we control.
  • Which visa classifications do you work with?
    O and P visas for individuals of extraordinary ability and recognized talent — together with the accompanying classifications for spouses, children, and essential support personnel.
  • Can I choose the consulate?
    As of September 6, 2025, applicants must attend their visa interview at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in their country of nationality or legal residence.
  • Do you help after I enter the United States?
    We provide a concise arrival memo — what to carry at the port of entry, what to expect at the officer’s window — and then we step out of the picture. Ongoing residency, tax and banking advice is outside our scope; we can recommend specialists.
  • Can you help my spouse or children at the same time?
    Yes. Dependents on O-3, P-4 or equivalent derivative visas can be run in parallel with your case. They are handled by the same advisor.
  • Once my visa is approved, how long until my passport is back?
    Typically 5 to 7 working days. Some consulates take 2 to 3 weeks — the timeline depends on the consulate’s workload. We monitor the process daily and move the moment your passport is released.
  • What if I can’t collect the passport myself?

    Two options.

    Premium Delivery — the route depends on the consulate. Some courier the passport to your home; others release it only to a designated pickup point at your nearest post office.

    A nominated collector — we prepare the authorization letter and the consulate’s instructions, and send them to whoever you nominate to collect on your behalf.

    We handle whichever route applies. The passport reaches your hand either way.

  • We’re an immigration law firm — can we refer clients to you for visa processing?
    Yes. Once your client’s petition is approved, you hand the case to us — we take it from there through passport delivery.
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