KABUL — A growing number of Afghan interpreters who worked alongside American troops are being denied U.S. visas allotted by Congress because the State Department says there is no serious threat against their lives.

But the interpreters, many of whom served in Taliban havens for years, say U.S. officials are drastically underestimating the danger they face. Immigration attorneys and Afghan interpreters say the denials are occurring just as concerns about Taliban retribution are mounting due to the withdrawal of U.S. forces.

“There are tons of Talibs in my village, and they all know that I worked with the Americans,” said one interpreter, Mohammad, who asked that his last name not be published for security reasons. “If I can’t go to the States, my life is over. I swear to God, one day the Taliban will catch me.”

Mohammad received a U.S. form letter saying he had failed to establish that there was a “serious threat” against his life. He had explained in his application that the Taliban had spotted him on the job and spread word in his village that he was a wanted man.

In one particularly dangerous assignment, he was asked to mediate between U.S. soldiers and locals after an American convoy ran over and killed an Afghan child, he said.

In the initial phase of the visa process, “an applicant has to establish that he or she has experienced or is experiencing an ongoing serious threat as a consequence of employment by or on behalf of the U.S. government,” said Robert Hilton, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

He said the applications were examined by an embassy committee, which decided whether they should move forward to Washington.

Hilton and other U.S. officials would not explain what constitutes a “serious threat” or discuss specific cases in which applicants were denied visas.

His musical pitch, vocal range or favorite aria did not come up much when B. R. McDonald, a tenor, was kicking down doors and jumping out of planes in Iraq and Afghanistan as a member of the Army’s Joint Special Operations Command.

“At 12,000 feet, the last thing you’re going tell somebody is: I was an opera singer,” he said.

Mr. McDonald, who has a vocal performance degree from the University of North Carolina and sang in an a cappella group — the Clefhangers — put that side of himself aside during eight years in the military.

But when he left the service in 2009 and wanted to pursue a career in the performing arts, Mr. McDonald felt at a loss. He had not performed in years. His skills were rusty. He had no mentor, no professional contacts.

If many returning veterans have re-entry issues, those reclaiming, or starting, careers in the arts encounter unusual hurdles, Mr. McDonald said. Repertoires have gone stale. Auditions loom like dental visits. Professionals assume they are amateurs.

“Most of us are stepping into it later in life,” he said. “That presents a challenge in any industry but especially in arts and entertainment. It’s all about relationships: Who do you know?”

So Mr. McDonald started one of a growing number of organizations that are set up to give veterans with a creative bent the kind of support they need and have trouble finding.

His Veteran Artist Program helps former soldiers learn to navigate the entertainment business and pitch their projects. Its Vets on Sets initiative, for example, helps veterans start careers in filmmaking, and its visual arts project arranges gallery shows and workshops.

Last week, in honor of Veterans Day, the program — together with the veterans group Warrior Gateway — held a weeklong Arts & Service Celebration in Manhattan. The program offered networking opportunities, career development and performances. In one session, veterans pitched their ideas for projects to producers, directors and agents. WNET, the Tribeca Film Institute, the Independent Filmmaker Project and New York University’s film school were among the organization’s that sent representatives.

The week concluded on Saturday with a performance of “The Telling Project,” in which military veterans — and their family members — tell their stories onstage; various incarnations have been performed in 14 cities and nine states since 2008.

Other programs like Mr. McDonald’s include one run by the Writer’s Guild Foundation that gives veterans mentors, professional film and television writers.