Advice Wanted - Rejected from position because the recruiters thought I wasn't a citizen?
Hey, I have been a lurker for a while but this is my first post. The other day I applied for an internship position at my university's auditing department. I am genuinely interested in audit, and I thought the position was pretty cool as I could learn about my school's finances. The position was posted on the school's job board, where the only stuff to send was my resume, cover letter, and transcript. No separate application anywhere.
The posting said that US work authorization was required, but I didn't think it applied to me. I am Indian, with an Indian name, but I am an American citizen. I was born and raised in the US and have lived here my whole life. I sent the application and moved on with my day.
Less than a day later, I get a message from the hiring manager. They write, "Hello (my name), We do not provide visa sponsorship. Thank you for your interest, and best of luck to you." I had to reread it a few times because I couldn't process the message. Why would I need sponsorship? I sent a reply, (in a respectful way) clarifying that I wouldn't need sponsorship and I hoped I could still be considered for the role. It has been 2 days, and the application closes tomorrow.
At this point, I know I'm not getting an interview. I never believed that I 100% deserved the role. I thought I had a decent shot but knew there is always a chance of rejection. I have had applications rejected in the past, but never for this reason. I usually move on from rejections pretty well, but this one really frustrates me. Should I be putting my citizenship on my resume from now on? I don't know anyone who does that. I've been trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, telling myself that they made a mistake. I don't think they had any bad intentions, but the mistake of assuming someone isn't a citizen is pretty crazy. They never asked me to provide my citizenship status, and never followed up to ask either.
I feel like I'm going crazy. I was considering complaining to the university, but I think they would just assume I was pissed I didn't get the role. This really got me thinking about others who had similar experiences to me. If my name was Jake Thomas would they have made the same mistake? There probably isn't anything I can do at this point. I just wrote this to maybe get some advice from others and to vent a little.