How to verify an agency (read this before paying anyone)

A lesson we have taught students since 2007: always demand the FULL price. Many companies advertise a program at a low headline number, then write in small print that you also pay a registration fee, a job-search fee, SEVIS, monthly insurance and 'administrative charges' — and the real total comes out far above the honest offers. Before you pay anyone anything, ask them to name the complete price of everything except the consular fees and the flight — in writing, with the refund terms for a visa refusal. And verify who actually stands behind the program: every legitimate offer runs through a US State Department–designated sponsor, which you can check yourself in the official register at j1visa.state.gov. If they cannot name their sponsor, walk away.