With what US government office or organization do I verify whether a business opportunity being offered by a US company over the Internet is legitimate and NOT just a scam. The advertiser collects about US$50.00 in order to be a member in the business.

There is no government office that will verify this. You can contact the city hall in the city they are located in and see if they have a business license, you can call the BBB of the city that they are located in and see if they are a member and if there were complaints. You can contact the attorney general of that state and see if there are complaints on them.

But many companies open cheat a lot of people, and close in a few months only to be opened up later under new names.

What type of business is it, what type of promises are they making?

It's home-based data entry. I will get paid based on the number of online forms I can fill up and submit for a company I chose from their members' area (which I can access once I paid the fee they demand). I can send you their URL where you can see for yourself what they claim. But I think I better send it to your email address directly or wherever you say. I don't want us to get into trouble or something (like getting sued, etc.) I am not familiar with your laws. Will that be all right?

Just post the web site here, we have some very good searches who know a lot.

just post the web site here, we have some very good searches who know alot.
Here it is: Data Entry Made Easy! (http://www.dataentrymadeeasy.com/half-price.php). Thank you in advance for all the help.

One word springs to mind...

SCAM!!

You should NEVER have to part with money for any type of job, whether online or not.

One word springs to mind....

SCAM !!!

You should NEVER have to part with money for any type of job, whether online or not.
Thank you so much, guys. I Have learned a lot. Thanks again.

Here's the part I like, it's in the FAQ: Data Entry Made Easy! (http://www.dataentrymadeeasy.com/faq.php)
At the bottom in the "How do I get a refund?" part, the link takes you to a page where it looks like they didn't pay for the 3rd party application i.e you will never get a refund.

As Ben noted, if this were legitimate, you wouldn't have to pay a fee. There are tons of these scams. Basically for your entry fee, you get a list of companies that may or may not farm out data entry. You may even get a kit showing how to approach these companies. But you have to do all the rest of the work.

BTW, there is a place to check/report such scams Federal Trade Commission - Home (http://www.ftc.gov)