By Prime Path Immigration Law Firm Limited USA, on Immigration Updates
On September 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued an interim final rule that significantly restricts eligibility for commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) and commercial learner's permits (CPLs) for noncitizens. The rule was prompted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) findings that states were improperly issuing CDLs to individuals not domiciled in the United States, with inadequate oversight, programming errors, and insufficient staff training leading to CDLs being issued to ineligible drivers or with expiration dates exceeding their authorized stay. The FMCSA linked these compliance failures to multiple fatal crashes in 2025 involving non-domiciled CDL holders.
Under the new rule, which took effect immediately, only individuals in specific employment-based nonimmigrant statuses (such as H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, L-1, O-1, and E-2) are eligible for CDLs or CPLs. Notably, individuals authorized to work solely through Employment Authorization Documents (EADs)—including asylum seekers, DACA recipients, TPS holders, and pending adjustment of status applicants—are no longer eligible. Non-citizen applicants must present an unexpired foreign passport and Form I-94 showing an eligible status at every issuance, transfer, renewal, or upgrade, and states must verify eligibility through the SAVE system. The CDL or CPL expiration date must align with the I-94 expiration or be limited to one year, whichever is sooner. Employers should verify that current drivers hold proper credentials and anticipate processing delays as states update their systems to comply with the new requirements.
For more information on this, and other immigration matters, contact the attorneys at Prime Path Immigration Law Firm Limited USA today.
Reference:
Practice Alert: Interim Rule Impacts Commercial Driver's Licenses (CDLs) for Nonimmigrants, AILA Doc. No. 25101332 (Oct. 13, 2025), https://www.aila.org/library/practice-alert-interim-rule-impacts-commercial-driver-s-licenses-cdls-for-nonimmigrants.
