New rules restrict foreigners from obtaining commercial driver’s licenses in the U.S.: only H-2A, H-2B and E-2 visa holders

After a series of crashes involving immigrant, non-English-speaking drivers, the Trump administration is rolling out new rules that would ban unqualified foreigners from driving commercial vehicles. The new rules will significantly reduce the number of people eligible and will also close existing loopholes between federal and state rules. Harjinder Singh, Jashanpreet Singh, Rajinder Kumar and Kamalpreet Singh are all Indian-origin truck drivers accused of causing fatal crashes on US highways over the past few months. They both obtained CDLs without residence in California.“For too long, the United States has allowed dangerous foreign drivers to abuse our truck permitting system and wreak havoc on our roadways,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement to The Daily Caller. “Going forward, unqualified foreign drivers will not be able to obtain a license to operate an 80,000-pound big rig.”

“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are putting the safety of the driving public first,” Duffy continued. “From enforcing English language standards to holding fraudulent carriers accountable, we will continue to tackle this road crisis head-on.”

What are the new rules for truckers?

H-2A, H-2B, and E-2 nonimmigrant status holders who pass federal screening will be eligible for the CDL. H-2A visa holders are temporary agricultural workers. H-2B visa holders are temporary non-agricultural workers. E2 is a treaty investor. The new rules also ban the acceptance of an EAD as proof of eligibility and require state officials to query the Alien Rights System Verification System to confirm the legal immigration status of each foreign applicant.The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said there were about 17 fatal crashes in 2025 “that were caused by the actions of non-resident CDL holders whose medical conditions could not be guaranteed and therefore would not qualify under this new rule.” The agency also accused more than 30 states of improperly issuing non-domestic CDLs.

Who can obtain a CDL under existing rules?

Non-citizens with any valid work authorization, including Employment Authorization Documents (EAD), such as those held by DACA recipients, asylum seekers, refugees, TPS holders, etc., may apply for a non-settled CDL/CLP as long as they have valid work authorization and immigration documentation.