How should I compare various visa agencies services?

Comparing various visa agencies and their services is always worthwhile. However, don’t compare by price alone!

While one service can appear to be a great deal, the important factors to a successful visa application are often in the small details of a company’s services. Most of the time a customer will only realize this once they have already chosen the service and by then it is already too late and your visa application may suffer. Here is a list of things to consider in deciding upon the right service for you:

• How qualified and experienced is the company providing the visa application service?
• What will the total cost over the entire application be?
• How long will the entire visa application process take from beginning to end?
• How much help will you receive in filling out the necessary forms, e.g. will your host organization receive the relevant support and assistance in understanding the U.S. State Department rules and regulations?
• Is insurance purchase through the visa agency optional or mandatory, or can you choose your own insurance? What are the terms of the insurance? How high are the deductibles?
• How many documents and forms will you have to gather and complete? How bureaucratic is the program, e.g. how many letters of references will you need?
• How many stipulations and requirements are to be fulfilled to participate in the program? For example, do you have to be a full-time student, can you participate after having only completed 2 semesters at a university, etc?