The State Department quietly reversed its ban on visas for commercial truck driving work after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration moved to ban most all non-domiciled CDL issuance in the country.
- Early numbers show at least one state issuing non-domiciled CDLs for visa holders at a faster rate in prior years.
- The Departments of Transportation and State, and individual states, said the new system for non-domiciled CDLs includes stepped-up scrutiny for applicants.
- Most but not all non-domiciled CDLs were banned by FMCSA's latest rulemaking on the topic, which took effect on March 16.
- Only holders of a few classes of non-immigrant visas (H-2A, H-2B, and E-2) can get non-domiciled CDLs under FMCSA's new rule.
In August, in one of the Trump administration's first moves against non-citizen drivers, the State Department said it banned all visa issuance for commercial truck drivers.
"Effective immediately, the Department is pausing the processing of work visas for applicants seeking to operate commercial trucks in the United States in order to conduct a comprehensive and thorough review of screening and vetting protocols used to determine their qualifications for a U.S. visa," a State spokesperson told Overdrive in August. "This pause applies to all nationalities, and is not directed at any specific country."
[Related: Chaotic DMV ICE raid, 'BS' Canadian CDLs: FMCSA's non-domiciled ban, one month later]
That review of vetting protocols has lifted. Now, the visas and CDLs are flowing again, but under heightened scrutiny.
"The Trump Administration is protecting Americans by preventing the entry of individuals who pose a threat to U.S. national security or public safety, including those who threaten safety on America’s roads," a State spokesperson told Overdrive on Thursday.
The spokesperson added the agency is "processing these visas with stricter standards to ensure the safety of our roads."
New, stricter standards include "ensuring applicants have sufficient English language skills, a valid U.S.-issued or U.S.-recognized CDL or the ability to obtain one, and a prior history of safe commercial truck operation," the spokesperson said.
Scrutiny has increased from the DOT's side, too. During FMCSA's audit of all 50 states' non-domiciled CDL issuance, 28 states and jurisdictions were put under special orders to stop issuing non-domiciled CDLs and revoke any wrongly issued ones.
States like California and New York fought those orders and ended up losing millions in federal funding. Most other states and jurisdictions went more quietly, falling in line with the feds' demands.
As for the other states that never got any special orders to stop issuing non-domiciled CDLs, they're all capable today of issuing the credentials to visa holders. New Jersey, for example, was issuing non-domiciled CDLs right up until the new rule took effect in March.
Of the states FMCSA had taken an enforcement action against for their noncompliant issuance of non-domiciled CDLs, the following states have received approval to issue non-domiciled CDLs: South Dakota, Iowa, Texas, Delaware, Utah, Rhode Island, North Dakota, Minnesota, and New Jersey.
