Dive Brief:
Under a new emergency rule announced by Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, non-U.S. citizens will be ineligible to obtain Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) unless they adhere to a stricter set of criteria. This interim final rule takes effect immediately and will be officially published on September 29. The regulation indicates that an employment authorization document, or work permit, will no longer suffice for non-domiciled commercial driver’s license applications. Non-citizen applicants must now present valid foreign passports and an unexpired Form I-94/I-94A as proof of legal presence in the U.S., including acceptable visas such as H2-B, H2-A, and E-2.
Dive Insight:
The Trump administration is intensifying enforcement standards for commercial driving due to safety concerns. Last month, the U.S. State Department halted the processing of work visas for individuals intending to drive commercial trucks in the U.S. The Department of Transportation’s recent actions are partly due to a nationwide audit revealing deficiencies in how states manage CDL issuance.
Duffy stated, “Our audit revealed a systemic breakdown among states to follow the law and issue licenses properly. States are failing to follow even the most basic procedures.” The audit uncovered procedural errors, programming flaws, and insufficient oversight in the licensing process.
The new rule from the department cites at least five fatal accidents this year involving non-domiciled CDL holders, with two drivers improperly issued CDLs and others who did not meet the updated requirements. As a result, states that issue non-domiciled CDLs must pause these licenses until they comply with the revised regulations.
Duffy emphasized, “My message is very simple: get into compliance now, or we’ll pull funding and compel you to comply.” An additional enforcement action has been taken against California, which risks losing federal highway funds if it does not address compliance issues within 30 days. This follows revelations that the state issued CDLs to drivers with expired or insufficient work authorizations over 25% of the time.
While California is the only state to receive a compliance letter currently, other states will soon be notified. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Chief Counsel Jesse Elison stated that withholding highway funding could escalate to 4% in the first year and double in the second year if compliance is not achieved. If necessary, the DOT could also decertify the licensing program in non-compliant states.
Duffy indicated that this is merely the beginning, warning that additional states might also face funding penalties. “Our team identified non-domiciled CDLs that were issued improperly in Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington,” he added.
