FMCSA Announces Limits on CDLs and CLPs for Non-Domiciled Drivers. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued an interim final rule that restricts how states issue and commercial driver’s licenses and commercial learner’s permits to individuals from outside of the United States. It tightens eligibility, strengthens safeguards, and makes clear when these licenses must be canceled or revoked. The rule:
- Limits individuals eligible for non-domiciled CLPs and CDLs to foreign individuals in lawful status in the United States in certain employment-based, non-immigrant categories, certain individuals domiciled in a U.S. territory, and individuals domiciled in a state that is prohibited from issuing CLPs or CDLs because FMCSA has decertified the state’s CDL program;
- Requires non-citizen applicants (except for lawful permanent residents) to provide an unexpired foreign passport and an unexpired Form I-94/94A (Arrival/Departure Record) indicating one of the specified employment-based nonimmigrant categories at every issuance, transfer, renewal, and upgrade action defined in the regulation;
- Requires state drivers licensing agencies (SDLA) to query the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system, known as SAVE, which is administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to verify the accuracy and legitimacy of provided documents and information;
- Requires that SDLAs retain copies of the application documents for at least two years;
- Requires the expiration date for any non-domiciled CLP or CDL to match the expiration date of the Form I-94/94A or to expire in one year, whichever is sooner;
- Requires the applicant to be present in-person at each renewal; and
- Requires an SDLA to downgrade the non-domiciled CLP or CDL if the state becomes aware that the holder is no longer eligible to hold a non-domiciled CLP or CDL.
The rule, effective immediately, comes in response to an ongoing nationwide audit by the FMCSA and a recent series of fatal crashes caused by non-domiciled drivers.
According to the agency, the audit has uncovered both a catastrophic pattern of states issuing licenses illegally to foreign drivers, as well as the fact that even if the current regulatory framework is followed, it can fail. The confluence of these two factors have created an imminent hazard on America’s roadways that must be fixed.
The audit found that in California alone, more than 25% of non-domiciled CDLs reviewed were improperly issued. As a result, DOT Secretary Duffy announced direct enforcement action against California. The state must immediately:
- Pause issuance of non-domiciled CDLs.
- Identify all unexpired non-domiciled CDLs that fail to comply with FMCSA regulations.
- Revoke and reissue all noncompliant non-domiciled CDLs if they comply with the new federal requirements.
The Secretary stated that California has 30 days to come into compliance, or FMCSA will withhold federal highway funds — starting at nearly $160 million in the first year and doubling in year two.
Moving forward, non-citizens will not be eligible for a non-domiciled CDL unless they meet a much stricter set of rules, including an employment-based visa and undergoing a mandatory federal immigration status check using the SAVE system. The rule does not prevent drivers domiciled in Canada or Mexico from operating in the U.S. in international transportation, however.
Under the new rule, effectively immediately, “Only those in lawful status in the United States in one of the following employment-based nonimmigrant categories will be permitted to obtain a non-domiciled CLP or CDL: H–2A (Temporary Agricultural Workers), H– 2B (Temporary Non-Agricultural Workers), or E–2 (Treaty Investors). No other immigration categories will be eligible for a non-domiciled CLP or CDL under the IFR. These nonimmigrant categories require either a labor certification through the Department of Labor (DOL), current employment, or other specified proof of work established through the Federal visa process.”
