The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Wednesday issued a Final Rule that largely doubles down on its efforts to all but eliminate CDL eligibility for non-citizens.
The rule, entitled "Restoring Integrity to the Issuance of Non-Domiciled Commercial Drivers Licenses," takes effect immediately.
Key changes in the final rule
- CDL eligibility is limited to H-2A, H-2B, and E-2 nonimmigrant status holders, who undergo enhanced interagency vetting.
- Elimination of EADs: EADs (Employment Authorization Documents) are no longer accepted as proof of eligibility due to the what the agency called systemic noncompliance of State Drivers Licensing Agencies (SDLAs). Applicants must present an unexpired foreign passport and specific Form I-94 documentation.
- Mandatory SAVE Verification: States must query the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system to confirm every applicant's lawful immigration status.
The rule makes only minor changes to the agency's September rulemaking, which explicitly sought to push nearly 200,000 non-citizen drivers out of commercial driving work, many of them in trucking.
[Related: Did DOT Secretary Duffy just kill trucking's 'driver shortage' narrative once and for all?]
After a court paused that rule in November and more than a dozen states objected to it, thousands of comments weighed in on the impacts of the rule. Yet FMCSA has declined most meaningful changes and finalized it.
Ultimately, it looks like the executive branch has put its foot down on CDLs for non-citizens: Only a few small groups of business/employment-based visa holders will be eligible.
The publication in the Federal Register includes point-by-point responses to challenges raised with the rule by commenters, with FMCSA most often declining to change tack.
Most notably, the rule declines to allow Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients CDL eligibility. Jorge Rivera, a DACA recipient and small fleet owner who currently holds a Utah-issued CDL, sued the FMCSA with Public Citizen and others and succeeded in November at getting a court to pause the Interim Final Rule (IFR).
"This final rule builds on and makes minor revisions to the regulatory changes in the IFR published on September 29, 2025," FMCSA wrote.
FMCSA said it "closes a critical safety gap in the Nation’s commercial drivers licensing system" that included "the issuance of licenses to individuals whose safety fitness cannot be adequately verified," likewise the "reliance on Employment Authorization Documents."
FMCSA said it "identified an unacceptable bifurcated standard in driver vetting" that required domestic CDL applicants to "face rigorous driver history checks through the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS) and the Problem Driver Pointer System (PDPS)," but that did not similarly required a check of driving history of non-domiciled applicants.
"This effectively shielded unsafe driving behaviors -- including serious violations or fatal crashes -- simply because they occurred outside the reach of U.S. databases," FMCSA said.
FMCSA added that it found such widespread errors with states' treatment of EADs that it sought to abandon the documents in CDL applications altogether.
"EADs are no longer accepted as proof of eligibility due to the systemic noncompliance at the SDLAs," FMCSA wrote in a press release. "Applicants must present an unexpired foreign passport and specific Form I-94 documentation."
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that “for far too long, America has allowed dangerous foreign drivers to abuse our truck licensing systems -- wreaking havoc on our roadways. This safety loophole ends today. Moving forward, unqualified foreign drivers will be unable to get a license to operate an 80,000-pound big rig. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are putting the safety of the driving public first. From enforcing English language standards to holding fraudulent carriers accountable, we will continue to attack this crisis on our roads head on.”
FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs referred to the rule as closing a “critical safety gap" that "allowed unqualified drivers with unknown driving histories to get behind the wheel of commercial vehicles. We are closing that gap today to ensure that only qualified, vetted drivers are operating on our nation’s roadways. If we cannot verify your safe driving history, you cannot hold a CDL in this country.”
