Two lawsuits are driving the non-domiciled CDL lawsuit landscape as of mid-2026: a consolidated D.C. Circuit challenge to the FMCSA’s rule restricting who can hold these commercial licenses, and New York’s Second Circuit petition contesting a $73 million federal funding withholding tied to the same policy. Both cases are set for oral argument in September 2026. The rule itself remains in force after the D.C. Circuit denied an emergency stay on May 5, 2026.1FreightWaves. Request to Block Non-Domiciled CDL Rule Denied, Case Heads to Court
The Rule Being Challenged
A non-domiciled CDL is a commercial driver’s license issued by a state to someone whose legal domicile is outside the United States, authorized by 49 U.S.C. ยง 31311(a)(12)(B)(ii). Before 2025, work-authorized immigrants including DACA recipients, TPS holders, asylum seekers, and refugees could qualify by presenting an Employment Authorization Document or a passport with a valid I-94.2Federal Register. Restoring Integrity to the Issuance of Non-Domiciled Commercial Drivers Licenses
On September 29, 2025, the FMCSA published an interim final rule that took effect immediately, skipping the standard notice-and-comment period. It cut eligibility to three visa categories only: H-2A, H-2B, and E-2.3FMCSA. Fact Sheet: Protecting Americas Roads States were required to verify applicants through the federal SAVE database, cap license terms at the shorter of the authorized stay or one year, and downgrade licenses if a holder became ineligible. A final rule (91 FR 7044) followed on February 13, 2026, keeping the same core restrictions and adding a requirement that the words “non-domiciled” appear conspicuously on the face of the license.4Federal Register. Restoring Integrity to the Issuance of Non-Domiciled Commercial Drivers Licenses – Final Rule The FMCSA estimates the rule will remove up to 194,000 drivers from the workforce over five years.
Rivera Lujan v. FMCSA: The D.C. Circuit Case
On October 20, 2025, truck drivers Jorge Rivera Lujan and Aleksei Semenovskii, along with AFSCME and the American Federation of Teachers, filed a petition for review in the D.C. Circuit. Public Citizen Litigation Group represents the petitioners.5AFSCME. Lawsuit Challenges Punitive Trump Regulation Targeting the Livelihood of Immigrants
Their core arguments: the FMCSA bypassed required notice-and-comment rulemaking, failed to follow legally mandated procedures, and issued a rule that was substantively unlawful. Petitioners contend the safety justification for the emergency action does not hold up on the agency’s own record.
The Stay That Held, Then Didn’t
The D.C. Circuit entered an administrative stay on November 10, 2025, briefly blocking the interim rule.6FMCSA. Order Granting Administrative Stay Three days later, a panel of Judges Henderson, Wilkins, and Pan dissolved that stay and replaced it with a fuller stay pending review, restraining the interim rule “in whole.” States could keep issuing non-domiciled CDLs under prior regulations, except for states already operating under a corrective action plan.7U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Order in No. 25-1215
The picture changed once the final rule arrived. Challengers asked the D.C. Circuit to stay the final rule as well. On May 5, 2026, a panel denied that request. Judge Robert Wilkins noted in a footnote that he would have granted it. By then, the litigation had absorbed a separate challenge filed by King County, Washington in March 2026, and the Teamsters had received amicus status.8FreightWaves. Request to Block Non-Domiciled CDL Rule Denied
Briefing Schedule
The D.C. Circuit set petitioners’ briefs for June 15, 2026, the FMCSA’s response for July 15, and final briefs for August 5. Oral argument is scheduled for September 2026.8FreightWaves. Request to Block Non-Domiciled CDL Rule Denied
The Amicus Position
The Sikh Coalition, joined by several Sikh community organizations and the Asian Law Caucus, filed an amicus brief arguing the safety rationale is pretextual. The brief noted the crashes the FMCSA initially cited are statistically insignificant against roughly 5,000 fatal truck crashes each year, and it documented a rise in harassment of Sikh drivers connected to the political climate around the rule.9Sikh Coalition. Amicus Brief in Lujan et al. v. FMCSA
New York’s Second Circuit Case
The second front is a state-versus-federal fight over money. On April 16, 2026, the FMCSA issued a final determination of substantial noncompliance against New York and moved to withhold $73,502,543 in National Highway Performance Program and Surface Transportation Block Grant Program funds for fiscal year 2027. The agency warned that continued noncompliance could roughly double the annual penalty and could lead to decertification of the state’s entire CDL program.10U.S. Department of Transportation. FMCSA New York Final Determination The FMCSA’s audit sampled 200 records and found 107 issued in violation of federal law, largely because New York’s system defaulted to eight-year license terms regardless of a driver’s authorized stay.
Attorney General Letitia James filed a petition for review in the Second Circuit on April 24, 2026 (No. 26-1097). New York argues the noncompliance finding is arbitrary and capricious, rests on a novel interpretation of longstanding practice, and exceeds the FMCSA’s statutory authority. The state points out that federal reviews of its program in prior years found no such problems.11New York Attorney General. Petition for Review Governor Kathy Hochul called the withholding “political payback.”12FreightWaves. $73 Million at Stake: New York Challenges DOTs Non-Domiciled CDL Ruling
New York sought preliminary relief. It was denied. The Second Circuit set the state’s brief for June 6, 2026, the government’s response for August 20, and a reply for August 31, with oral argument calendared for the week of September 28, 2026.13Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse. State of New York v. United States Department of Transportation
The Safety Data at the Center of Both Cases
Both lawsuits turn in significant part on whether the FMCSA’s safety justification can survive scrutiny. The agency cited 17 fatal crashes in 2025 involving non-domiciled CDL holders whose fitness “could not be ensured,” resulting in 30 deaths, and stated that none of those crashes involved drivers who would remain eligible under the new rule. It has not published case numbers, dates, or locations.14GovInfo. Pre-Publication Final Rule
A coalition of 20 state attorneys general led by Massachusetts argued in comments that the FMCSA itself acknowledged it lacked evidence of a measurable empirical relationship between immigration status and crash rates. The coalition estimated the rule would strip nearly 200,000 drivers of their livelihoods and cut the commercial driver workforce by about five percent.15Office of the Attorney General of California. Massachusetts, California et al. Comment Letter Public comments to the docket ran 86.7% against the rule, according to an analysis by Overdrive.16Overdrive. FMCSA Issues Final Rule Banning Non-Domiciled CDLs Almost Entirely
The FMCSA’s answer, in the final rule preamble, is that the inability to verify foreign driving histories is itself the safety problem, and that the three approved visa categories function as a proxy for driver-history vetting because those statuses involve rigorous consular screening before entry. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said the prior framework allowed “dangerous foreign drivers to abuse our truck licensing systems.”17Overdrive. FMCSA Issues Final Rule
Other States Facing Funding Threats
The New York case is the only state-level lawsuit currently in court, but it is not the only funding fight. Pennsylvania was warned on November 20, 2025 that roughly $75 million in federal highway funding was at risk after the FMCSA said the state had issued licenses without verifying legal status. Governor Josh Shapiro’s administration criticized the federal SAVE database itself as unreliable, and PennDOT paused non-domiciled commercial driver product issuance effective September 29, 2025.18FMCSA. Duffy Warns Pennsylvania $75 Million on the Line196abc. Trump Administration Threatens to Withhold $75M From Pennsylvania
Illinois received a preliminary determination of noncompliance on February 17, 2026. Approximately $64.3 million in FY 2027 highway funds are at stake, potentially rising to $128.6 million in later years.20FMCSA. Preliminary Determination of Noncompliance – Illinois Oregon, New Jersey, and Maryland have also received preliminary noncompliance determinations, according to the FMCSA’s review page.21FMCSA. Non-Domiciled CDL Review Any of these states could open a new litigation front by following New York’s model.
What Happens Next
The rule is in force. Existing non-domiciled licenses issued under the prior framework generally remain valid until expiration, but renewals and new issuances must meet the tightened requirements, and states remain responsible for licenses the FMCSA considers improperly issued regardless of when they were granted.22FMCSA. Non-Domiciled CDL 2026 Final Rule FAQs
September 2026 is the pivot. If the D.C. Circuit rules for the petitioners after argument that month, the rule itself could be vacated or remanded to the FMCSA. If the Second Circuit rules for New York, the state gets its highway funding back and the model that pressured Pennsylvania, Illinois, and others weakens. If the government wins both, the restrictions harden and additional states can expect the same treatment New York got. Drivers, employers, and state DMVs operating under the rule today should plan on continued enforcement while the courts work through the arguments.