Philips Software Developer I interview questions

The interview process itself was very efficient and well organized. It started with a phone screen with the development manager, then two team members, and finally an on-site interview. I was very impressed with the team, and I believe the feeling was mutual since I got an offer within an hour of the interview. I was ready to accept the offer, but here's when things went south: At the time I was on an OPT visa and Philips promised to sponsor me for an H1-B application (it was mentioned in the offer letter as well). Right before accepting the offer, a friend of mine told me that Philips doesn't hire foreign nationals of certain countries. This went against the fact that Philips is an Equal Opportunity Employer (as advertised in the job description), which entitles the company to not discriminate against country of origin. Just to be safe however, I decided to send the HR an email respectfully asking if there were any restrictions related to my country of origin. She responded to the email and wanted me to call her immediately on her phone. When I did that, she told me that unfortunately Philips cannot hire or sponsor me due to my country of origin and that she was going to take the offer back. I'd imagine the reason the wanted me to call her rather than respond over email was because she didn't want it to be easily traceable, which could potentially cause legal issues since in reality they were breaking the law. Smart move Philips. The worst part is that I had already declined another offer and wasn't able to get it back. In the future, if you're going to break the law, please at least try to be more discreet about it and try to determine the country of origin of the candidate before giving them an offer.