Practice Resources

Practice Alert: Interim Rule Impacts Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) for Nonimmigrants

10/13/25 AILA Doc. No. 25101332. Business Immigration, Employer Compliance

On September 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced an interim final rule to strengthen federal oversight of state issuance of commercial learner’s permits (CPLs) and commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs). The rule was driven by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) review of state processes to issue CDLs and CPLs, particularly those individuals considered “not domiciled” in the United States (i.e. noncitizens authorized to work). FMSCA linked the rule to multiple 2025 fatal crashes involving non-domiciled CDL holders.

FMSCA found that many states failed to comply with existing guidance and that there were programming errors and weak quality assurance, resulting in improper issuance of documents. In addition, they found “Insufficient staff training that led to CDLs being issued to drivers who were not eligible and to drivers with expiration dates extending beyond a driver’s legal stay in the U.S.”1

The DOT’s interim final rule2, which was effective immediately, provides for the following:

  • Only individuals in lawful employment-based nonimmigrant status (e.g., H-1B, L-1, O-1, E-2) are now eligible are eligible for a CPL or CDL.
  • EAD-only holders (e.g., asylum seekers, DACA recipients, TPS, pending AOS applicants) are no longer eligible for CPLs or CDLs.
  • Non-citizen applicants, except for U.S. permanent residents, must provide an unexpired foreign passport and an unexpired I-94/94A Arrival/Departure Record indicating one of the specified employment-based nonimmigrant categories, specifically H-2B, H-2A, and E-2 classifications, at every issuance, transfer, renewal, and upgrade action defined in the regulation.
  • States must immediately pause issuance or renewal of non-domiciled CDLs/CLPs until their processes comply.
  • States are also required to query the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system prior to issuance.
  • The expiration of the CDL or CPL must match the expiration date of the Form I-94/94A or it must expire in one year, whichever is sooner.

See the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Protecting America’s Roads: Restoring Integrity to Non-Domiciled CDLs, https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/2025-09/Fact%20Sheet_Protecting%20America%27s%20Roads_Restoring%20Integrity%20to%20Non-Domiciled%20CDLs%20%285%29.pdf

Corrections were published on October 2, 2025, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/10/02/2025-19230/restoring-integrity-to-the-issuance-of-non-domiciled-commercial-drivers-licenses-cdl-correction

 

Employer Implications:

  • Employers should confirm that current drivers are eligible to hold the proper credential. Foreign national drivers should be able to produce a foreign passport and Form I-94 showing admission in the above-listed statuses. If an employee has work authorization pursuant to an EAD, employers should reverify the employee’s work authorization by asking for alternative work authorization documentation.
  • Importantly, this process should be divorced from hiring and Form I-9 completion processes to avoid possible anti-discrimination or document abuse claims.
  • Expect processing delays for issuance of new/renewed CDLs/CPLs while states update systems.

Next Steps:

  • Comments on the IFR are due November 28, 2025.
  • FMCSA, DHS, and state agencies will issue further implementation guidance over the next several weeks.
  • Attorneys should advise clients with drivers in foreign status to anticipate disruptions in CDL renewals and plan accordingly. 

1 See the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Protecting America’s Roads: Restoring Integrity to Non-Domiciled CDLs, https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/2025-09/Fact%20Sheet_Protecting%20America%27s%20Roads_Restoring%20Integrity%20to%20Non-Domiciled%20CDLs%20%285%29.pdf

2 Corrections were published on October 2, 2025, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/10/02/2025-19230/restoring-integrity-to-the-issuance-of-non-domiciled-commercial-drivers-licenses-cdl-correction