J-1 student intern NIE

Hello everyone, I am going to the US for a summer internship from August-2nd to 24th of September. However, my DS-2019 shows that I am a student intern.

I contacted the Consulate if I can travel to the USA and they said that provided my start date is after or on August 1st (which it is), I can travel without applying for an NIE. However no where in the Embassy website has it been mentioned. Should I trust the Consulate and go?

Thanks in advance