An in person interview seems pretty excessive!  I am a phone op for a reputable agency in Phoenix, and I can tell you that for incall, we require 2 provider references.  As for outcall, references are great, but not required. We try to encourage gentlemen to at least put the booking fee on a credit card as a means of ID verification, but sometimes that is not possible for the client.  So instead I just try to get a sense of whether he is a local or a business traveller, what his line of work is, whether he has a business card and/or flight itinerary to show the provider, a cell phone number, and if he is in a hotel, I need his real first and last name to I can verify that he is registered at the hotel.  That's about it!  Well, that and your SAT scores! (just kidding )

wow i have never heard of an in-person interview, can you post a link to the website of the agency you are referring to?