There has been much back and forth on the subject of non-domiciled commercial drivers licenses (CDL) and recap is in order:
September 29, 2025: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) interim final ruling went into effect requiring drivers to be citizens or possess H-2A, H-2B or E-2 visas in order to obtain a CDL. The ruling was estimated to impact 197,000 drivers nationwide.
October 20, 2025: Rivera Lujan sued the FMCSA for bypassing normal processes and barring DACA recipients and asylum seekers from access to CDLs.
November 6, 2025: California sent notices to 17,000 CDLs holders their CDLs would be invalidated in 60 days (January 6, 2026).
November 13, 2025: The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a stay of enforcement on the FMSCA’s rule until the court has time to complete its review.
December 3, 2025: The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia paused the legal challenge while the FMCSA reviews its more than 8,000 public comments and potentially amends the ruling.
December 10, 2025: California informed the FMCSA it would resume issuing non-domiciled CDLs effective December 17, 2025 and would reinstate the 17,000 CDLs previously set for revocation.
December 17, 2025: The FMCSA stops California from resuming the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs and from reissuing the previously revoked CDLs as these licenses were issued in violation of rules existing prior to the interim final ruling.
December 23, 2025: A class action lawsuit was filed against the State of California for the cancelation of the 17,000 non-domiciled CDLs. The lawsuit was filed by the Asian Law Caucus, Sikh Coalition and law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges. It contends the cancelations were the result of the state’s administrative errors and did not provide the required opportunity to reapply for corrected licenses.