Christina this is all very routine, and odds are the school will do a phone interview once the recruiter is sure you are serious. His asking you to get a visa now is mainly an issue of speed, since there really is not a lot of time to go through all the motions. Perhaps you don't know but it takes weeks just to process everything before you go. Since this person is asking you to get a visa though, I can only assume the school is not legit.

Generally a good school will do the visa for you, and get you a Z visa, before you even come. If you are being asked to get your own L or F visa before going, be wary.

I am not saying that some people have not gotten some decent jobs this way, but usually it ends up going sour.

There was a good post here listing 27 questions that you had to ask, but it was opted by another poster, and you have to search to find it. If this were up you'd have no need to wonder what to do.

Truth is, don't deal with recruiters. However, if you don't have a degree, you may have to, sadly. That being the case, ask for pictures of the school, the apartment, everything.

If you have a degree, never, ever use a recruiter.