All charges dismissed, H-1B status preserved
CASE SUMMARY
Adaptation note: This story is adapted from similar matters handled by Lingtu Law and its peers. Names, places, dates and amounts have been changed, and the outcomes are presented as scenarios only. They do not reflect that similar cases will reach the same result.
Background
T, a software engineer in H-1B status, lives in an apartment in Irvine. In fall 2024 his father died in China, and because of his visa situation he could not go home for the funeral. Afterward he could not sleep and began drinking alone. One night in November, drunk, he smashed the windows of three cars in the parking lot with a golf club, and when a security guard tried to stop him, he pushed the guard to the ground. Prosecutors charged the most serious counts: felony vandalism plus a battery count.
Once sober, T deeply regretted it. What he feared most was that a conviction could lead his employer to stop sponsoring his H-1B renewal, and that it would come up in any future green card application.
Strategy
We first took him to a psychiatrist. The diagnosis was major depression, directly connected to what happened that night. T was willing to take responsibility: he paid for all three cars' repairs that month and wrote an apology letter to the guard.
We asked the court to allow mental health diversion: no plea, a court-supervised plan of treatment, medication and sobriety, regular progress reports to the court, and dismissal once he completed it. The prosecutor worried he might reoffend, so we submitted his doctor's treatment plan and three consecutive months of sobriety records.
Case Timeline
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| November 2024 | T arrested after smashing car windows and pushing a guard while drunk |
| December 2024 | Retained Lingtu Law; pleaded not guilty at arraignment; paid all three cars' repairs that month |
| January 2025 | Psychiatrist issued a diagnosis and treatment plan |
| March 2025 | Judge approved 18 months of mental health diversion |
| September 2026 | Diversion completed; all charges dismissed |
Outcome
In March 2025 the judge approved 18 months of mental health diversion. T brought his doctor's report to every court date and never missed one. In September 2026 the judge found he had completed the program and dismissed all charges. He never entered a plea, so there is no conviction, and his H-1B renewal and green card application are moving forward as usual.