Got an offer from Merrill Lynch but HR rejected it

Hi all,

Hope you are having a good weekend. So I got a PWM internship offer last week from Merrill Lynch. However, during the HR process this week, I was told that Merrill Lynch does not hire an intern without an SSN. I'm an international student. I'm pretty sure I can work there with CPT authorisation.

My boss, or the team leader, tried really hard to negotiate with the HR but it didn't work out. He said the HR says that ML does not sponsor interns anymore, but will make a consideration if I have a student visa (which I do) and an SSN (which is paradoxical because I need ML's approval to obtain CPT that'd lead to the issuance of an SSN).

I feel there must be some misunderstanding because my boss is not knowledgeable about how international work authorisation works, so the way he communicated with HR might have caused some misunderstanding.

It would be a great disappointment if I can't intern at ML because of these technicality things. I really want to work with that ML group not only because I want to experience and a good name on the resume, but also because it's a young and energetic team, I love my team members.

What do you guys suggest me to do? Do you think there's a chance for me to save it? Or any international interns on WSO will be working at ML PWM for the summer?

Thanks.