After the Department of Transportation's efforts to end non-domiciled CDL issuance stalled out in court, the Department of Homeland Security announced major changes limiting work authorizations for foreign workers.
DHS' move impacts all foreign people seeking work authorization in the U.S., but has special implications for CDL drivers, and comes after DOT Secretary Sean Duffy referred to himself and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem as every "foreign driver's worst nightmare."
On Thursday, DHS announced that it would update the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Policy Manual, which states consult when issuing CDLs.
The Policy Manual update reduces the maximum validity period for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs, needed to get non-domiciled CDLs) from five years to just 18 months for the following categories of non-citizens:
- Aliens admitted as refugees;
- Aliens granted asylum;
- Aliens granted withholding of deportation or removal;
- Aliens with pending applications for asylum or withholding of removal;
- Aliens with pending applications for adjustment of status
- Aliens with pending applications for suspension of deportation, cancellation of removal, or relief under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act.
The update seeks to "result in more frequent vetting of aliens who apply for authorization to work in the United States," USCIS wrote in a release. "Vetting an alien more often will enable USCIS to deter fraud and detect aliens with potentially harmful intent so they can be processed for removal from the United States."
USCIS said a recent shooting of two National Guard service members by an Afghan national who was granted asylum in 2025 motivated the change.
“Reducing the maximum validity period for employment authorization will ensure that those seeking to work in the United States do not threaten public safety or promote harmful anti-American ideologies," said USCIS Director Joseph Edlow. "After the attack on National Guard service members in our nation’s capital by an alien who was admitted into this country by the previous administration, it’s even more clear that USCIS must conduct frequent vetting of aliens.”
The change will only impact non-citizens with applications for employment authorization pending or filed by Dec. 5, 2025.
Not only will foreign workers only be able to get a maximum 18 months of work authorization, they will have to pay fees to get the documents. In this July 22 notice on the Federal Register, USCIS said the One Big Beautiful Bill Act required these fees.
Under the new rule even applying for asylum, previously free and the method by which potentially millions of undetected border crossers eventually gained legal status in the U.S., will now cost $100.
EADs, depending on the type, now cost a minimum of $275 for renewals and up to $1,070 for a certain class of non-citizen with Temporary Protective Status. Before the rule, many classes of non-citizens had to pay a $520 filling fee, but the new rule marks a major increase for everyone. Additionally, the fees will increase with inflation over time.
USCIS' new fees and Policy Manual update come at a time of increasing scrutiny on the vetting of foreign drivers. DHS and DOT previously bashed states like Pennsylvania and California for granting CDLs to "criminal illegal aliens," and even in one case a "wanted terrorist."
Both states responded to those charges by saying that DHS, not states, actually vet applicants for work authorizations.
USCIS' Policy Manual still allows people to get drivers licenses and CDLs with just one name, explaining the "No Name Given" CDL phenomenon sometimes observed in immigration raids on the interstate and cargo theft cases.
Importantly, the changes at USCIS will compound restrictions on how long someone can hold a non-domiciled CDL, as DOT recently made it clear that CDLs must not remain valid longer than a person's work authorization.
[Related: DOT's non-domiciled CDL crackdown: Overdrive survey results show huge support]
