Overview

• The rule bars most non‑domiciled applicants from obtaining commercial driver’s licenses unless they hold specific employment‑based visas and clear a mandatory SAVE immigration status check.
• California must halt issuance of non‑domiciled CDLs, identify and fix improperly issued licenses within 30 days, and faces a first‑year federal highway funding withholding starting near $160 million if it fails to comply.
• Transportation officials directed all states to pause issuing CDLs to non‑citizens until they can meet the new federal requirements.
• An FMCSA audit found more than 25% of reviewed non‑domiciled CDLs in California were improperly issued, with additional inconsistencies identified in Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington.
• Officials linked the action to a series of fatal crashes in Florida, Texas, and Alabama and said the rule is not retroactive, estimating roughly 190,000 of about 200,000 current non‑citizen CDL holders would be ineligible under the new criteria.