SHAGUN KALRA | ARCHITECT & REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER

MIT graduate secures O-1A approval without an RFE

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3 min

Shagun Kalra moved to the United States to study architecture and completed two master’s degrees, including one at MIT. After deciding to build his life in the U.S. and beginning his career in real estate development, he needed an O-1 visa to continue working. In this interview, he shares how working with Tukki helped him build a stronger case, understand the process, and receive approval without an RFE.

Q: How did you hear about Tukki?

S: I first heard about Tukki through alumni from MIT who had already worked with them for their own visas. Since several people I trusted recommended them, I decided to reach out. Their experience gave me confidence that I was choosing the right team.

“All my friends had great things to say, so that's why I went with Tukki.” — Shagun

Q: What was the biggest challenge during your O-1A process?

S: At first, I assumed my background would make the process straightforward. Once I started working with Tukki, I realized that building an O-1A case requires looking carefully at your entire professional journey. During the first couple of months, I even questioned whether I qualified. The team helped me understand what mattered most and guided me through every step.

“I thought it was going to be easy, but it was actually not.” — Shagun

Q: How was your experience working with the team?

S: What I appreciated most was their honesty. There were moments when I wanted to move faster because I had already received a job offer. Instead of filing immediately, the team explained that my application wasn’t ready yet and that it needed more work.

Although it was frustrating at the time, waiting turned out to be the right decision. We submitted an application that everyone felt confident about, and it was approved without an RFE.

“They were honest from day one. That's what I respected the most.” — Shagun

Q: What stood out most about the platform?

S: The platform gave me complete visibility into my case. Instead of wondering what was happening after uploading documents, I could see exactly which stage the process was in and whether the paralegal or attorney was reviewing my file. That transparency made me appreciate the work happening behind the scenes and made the entire process feel much more organized.

“It's not like your case goes into a black box. You always know what's happening.” — Shagun

Q: How did you feel when your O-1 visa was approved?

S: The approval came on the fifteenth day after filing. I was checking Reddit and worrying that I might lose my job if I didn’t hear back soon. Then the Tukki team invited me to a video call to share the news. It ended up being the best weekend I had experienced in months.

“It was the best weekend in the last six months.” — Shagun

Q: How has your approval changed your life?

S: The biggest change is simple: I’m working now. Like many immigrants, visa uncertainty is always in the back of your mind. Receiving my approval gave me stability and the confidence to focus on my career while planning my next steps.

Q: What would you recommend to someone evaluating different options?

S: I would absolutely recommend Tukki. What makes them different is the combination of experienced attorneys with modern technology. The platform keeps everyone connected, communication is fast, and features like AI help make the process easier without replacing the legal team. The result is an experience that feels collaborative, transparent, and efficient.

“They're combining the traditional way of working with lawyers with the new age of technology.” — Shagun

Final thoughts

S: It was simply the right experience. From beginning to end, I felt supported, informed, and confident that the team was building the strongest possible case. For my next visa process, I would choose Tukki again.

“For my next visa process, I'm definitely going to go with Tukki again.” — Shagun

“I got my O-1 visa approved thanks to the team at Tukki and their lawyers were amazing, a really good process.”

🇮🇳 Akrisht Pandey

Director of Real Estate Krea USA

“Tukki team's support was fast and responsive. I literally had someone responding in a couple of hours—sometimes even within minutes—so whenever I was a bit lost, there was always someone to help me out.”

🇧🇷 Camila Zancanella

Co-founder and CEO of Domu

“Track record and responsiveness made all the difference. Both the tech and the legal team were top-notch.”

🇪🇸 Lois Rogel Vence

Co-founder and CEO of Momento

“I've worked with a few lawyers, and Tukki has by far been the best experience.”

🇨🇴 Gia Liu

Co-Founder of Fintegral

“The Tukki team's involvement plus the tech platform where you're able to track your own process were key to how smooth it went.”

🇨🇴 Carlos Mejia

Director of Real Estate Development at Delta

“I didn't really know how to prepare my case, but the Tukki team walked me through the process and answered all my questions.”

🇦🇷 Gonzalo Piñero

PHD Researcher

“I really felt like every single person on the team… everything that I was asking, or everything that they were doing, was like their top priority. And it's so amazing to feel that support for something so important as immigration.”

🇨🇴 Lorenza Velez

Founder & Co-CEO in Ponte

“In a field without structure, Tukki helped me make sense of everything.”

🇮🇳 Archana Raja

Classical Dancer & Choreographer

“Tukki made a fairly unfamiliar process for me as a foreigner more reassuring.”

🇬🇧 Virginia Szepietowski

Co-founder and CEO of Nyad

“Tukki's lawyers and tech guided me all the way through the complex criteria and documentation required, all the way to EB-1A visa approval.”

🇨🇴 Samuel Urquijo

Founder of Keybe

“Overall, the experience was great. I liked very much all the paralegal team; they were super available.”

🇮🇹 Andrea Sguazzi

Head of Venture Builder & Startup Programs

“Tukki's flows make it impossible to upload information with inconsistencies, which I absolutely loved.”

🇦🇷 Guido Tagliavini

Software engineer at Google

“I've been through many immigration processes. Tukki's team was supportive, responsive, and made everything easier.”

🇨🇴 Daniel Baiz

CEO of OneAxiom

“I think everything about the Tukki experience brings a lot of transparency into the problem and into the execution of the process. So that is very, very important. And I would suggest everybody to look for that, because it brings you peace into your everyday.”

🇦🇷 Michelle Shocron

Co-Founder & CEO at Parsed

“Tukki gave us both the structure and the support we needed to make our U.S. move possible.”

🇭🇹 Clifford Nau & Anne-Marie Desormeaux

Co-founder of Kura Technologies | Public Health Specialist

“They explained every step clearly and gave me peace of mind knowing my case was in good hands.”

🇲🇽 Viridiana Aguilar

Founder and CEO of Vivantra

“I had spoken with some lawyers and firms before, and everything felt confusing, like a maze. With Tukki, I could visualize the entire process clearly.”

🇪🇸 Felipe de Sande Palma

Founder of Amrap

“I think this is never going to be an easy process, but you guys make it seem easier.”

🇨🇱 Andres Garbarini

Co-founder and CEO of Finvix

“The biggest difference was having everything organized. It turned a long process into something much easier to manage.”

🇪🇸 Pilar Baldominos

Cancer Researcher

“The Tukki team understands each candidate's profile and builds the strategy that works best for them.”

🇮🇳 Tharak Vangalapat

Senior Principal Data Scientist

“I got my O-1 visa approved thanks to the team at Tukki and their lawyers were amazing, a really good process.”

🇮🇳 Akrisht Pandey

Director of Real Estate Krea USA

“Tukki team's support was fast and responsive. I literally had someone responding in a couple of hours—sometimes even within minutes—so whenever I was a bit lost, there was always someone to help me out.”

🇧🇷 Camila Zancanella

Co-founder and CEO of Domu

“Track record and responsiveness made all the difference. Both the tech and the legal team were top-notch.”

🇪🇸 Lois Rogel Vence

Co-founder and CEO of Momento

“I've worked with a few lawyers, and Tukki has by far been the best experience.”

🇨🇴 Gia Liu

Co-Founder of Fintegral

“The Tukki team's involvement plus the tech platform where you're able to track your own process were key to how smooth it went.”

🇨🇴 Carlos Mejia

Director of Real Estate Development at Delta

“I didn't really know how to prepare my case, but the Tukki team walked me through the process and answered all my questions.”

🇦🇷 Gonzalo Piñero

PHD Researcher

“I really felt like every single person on the team… everything that I was asking, or everything that they were doing, was like their top priority. And it's so amazing to feel that support for something so important as immigration.”

🇨🇴 Lorenza Velez

Founder & Co-CEO in Ponte

“In a field without structure, Tukki helped me make sense of everything.”

🇮🇳 Archana Raja

Classical Dancer & Choreographer

“Tukki made a fairly unfamiliar process for me as a foreigner more reassuring.”

🇬🇧 Virginia Szepietowski

Co-founder and CEO of Nyad

“Tukki's lawyers and tech guided me all the way through the complex criteria and documentation required, all the way to EB-1A visa approval.”

🇨🇴 Samuel Urquijo

Founder of Keybe

“Overall, the experience was great. I liked very much all the paralegal team; they were super available.”

🇮🇹 Andrea Sguazzi

Head of Venture Builder & Startup Programs

“Tukki's flows make it impossible to upload information with inconsistencies, which I absolutely loved.”

🇦🇷 Guido Tagliavini

Software engineer at Google

“I've been through many immigration processes. Tukki's team was supportive, responsive, and made everything easier.”

🇨🇴 Daniel Baiz

CEO of OneAxiom

“I think everything about the Tukki experience brings a lot of transparency into the problem and into the execution of the process. So that is very, very important. And I would suggest everybody to look for that, because it brings you peace into your everyday.”

🇦🇷 Michelle Shocron

Co-Founder & CEO at Parsed

“Tukki gave us both the structure and the support we needed to make our U.S. move possible.”

🇭🇹 Clifford Nau & Anne-Marie Desormeaux

Co-founder of Kura Technologies | Public Health Specialist

“They explained every step clearly and gave me peace of mind knowing my case was in good hands.”

🇲🇽 Viridiana Aguilar

Founder and CEO of Vivantra

“I had spoken with some lawyers and firms before, and everything felt confusing, like a maze. With Tukki, I could visualize the entire process clearly.”

🇪🇸 Felipe de Sande Palma

Founder of Amrap

“I think this is never going to be an easy process, but you guys make it seem easier.”

🇨🇱 Andres Garbarini

Co-founder and CEO of Finvix

“The biggest difference was having everything organized. It turned a long process into something much easier to manage.”

🇪🇸 Pilar Baldominos

Cancer Researcher

“The Tukki team understands each candidate's profile and builds the strategy that works best for them.”

🇮🇳 Tharak Vangalapat

Senior Principal Data Scientist

“I got my O-1 visa approved thanks to the team at Tukki and their lawyers were amazing, a really good process.”

🇮🇳 Akrisht Pandey

Director of Real Estate Krea USA

“Tukki team's support was fast and responsive. I literally had someone responding in a couple of hours—sometimes even within minutes—so whenever I was a bit lost, there was always someone to help me out.”

🇧🇷 Camila Zancanella

Co-founder and CEO of Domu

“Track record and responsiveness made all the difference. Both the tech and the legal team were top-notch.”

🇪🇸 Lois Rogel Vence

Co-founder and CEO of Momento

“I've worked with a few lawyers, and Tukki has by far been the best experience.”

🇨🇴 Gia Liu

Co-Founder of Fintegral

“The Tukki team's involvement plus the tech platform where you're able to track your own process were key to how smooth it went.”

🇨🇴 Carlos Mejia

Director of Real Estate Development at Delta

“I didn't really know how to prepare my case, but the Tukki team walked me through the process and answered all my questions.”

🇦🇷 Gonzalo Piñero

PHD Researcher

“I really felt like every single person on the team… everything that I was asking, or everything that they were doing, was like their top priority. And it's so amazing to feel that support for something so important as immigration.”

🇨🇴 Lorenza Velez

Founder & Co-CEO in Ponte

“In a field without structure, Tukki helped me make sense of everything.”

🇮🇳 Archana Raja

Classical Dancer & Choreographer

“Tukki made a fairly unfamiliar process for me as a foreigner more reassuring.”

🇬🇧 Virginia Szepietowski

Co-founder and CEO of Nyad

“Tukki's lawyers and tech guided me all the way through the complex criteria and documentation required, all the way to EB-1A visa approval.”

🇨🇴 Samuel Urquijo

Founder of Keybe

“Overall, the experience was great. I liked very much all the paralegal team; they were super available.”

🇮🇹 Andrea Sguazzi

Head of Venture Builder & Startup Programs

“Tukki's flows make it impossible to upload information with inconsistencies, which I absolutely loved.”

🇦🇷 Guido Tagliavini

Software engineer at Google

“I've been through many immigration processes. Tukki's team was supportive, responsive, and made everything easier.”

🇨🇴 Daniel Baiz

CEO of OneAxiom

“I think everything about the Tukki experience brings a lot of transparency into the problem and into the execution of the process. So that is very, very important. And I would suggest everybody to look for that, because it brings you peace into your everyday.”

🇦🇷 Michelle Shocron

Co-Founder & CEO at Parsed

“Tukki gave us both the structure and the support we needed to make our U.S. move possible.”

🇭🇹 Clifford Nau & Anne-Marie Desormeaux

Co-founder of Kura Technologies | Public Health Specialist

“They explained every step clearly and gave me peace of mind knowing my case was in good hands.”

🇲🇽 Viridiana Aguilar

Founder and CEO of Vivantra

“I had spoken with some lawyers and firms before, and everything felt confusing, like a maze. With Tukki, I could visualize the entire process clearly.”

🇪🇸 Felipe de Sande Palma

Founder of Amrap

“I think this is never going to be an easy process, but you guys make it seem easier.”

🇨🇱 Andres Garbarini

Co-founder and CEO of Finvix

“The biggest difference was having everything organized. It turned a long process into something much easier to manage.”

🇪🇸 Pilar Baldominos

Cancer Researcher

“The Tukki team understands each candidate's profile and builds the strategy that works best for them.”

🇮🇳 Tharak Vangalapat

Senior Principal Data Scientist

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