Immigration Law
If you run a trucking company, the last few months have brought more regulatory change than most years combined. The federal government has already implemented new English proficiency enforcement for commercial drivers. CDL testing rules are being overhauled. And now, proposed legislation moving through Congress could ban the use of foreign dispatch services entirely.
For transportation companies that rely on foreign-born drivers or overseas dispatch teams—and many do—these changes raise urgent questions about workforce continuity and compliance.
As an immigration attorney who works with transportation companies on employment-based sponsorship, I’m fielding these questions daily. This article breaks down what has already changed, what is currently proposed, and what your company should be thinking about now.
Before we get to proposed legislation, it’s important to understand what the federal government has already done. These are not proposals—they are current, enforceable rules.
English Language Proficiency (ELP) is now being enforced at roadside inspections as an out-of-service condition. Federal regulations have long required commercial drivers to be able to read and speak English sufficiently to communicate with law enforcement, understand road signs, and respond to official inquiries. But enforcement was inconsistent. That has changed. President Trump signed legislation on February 3, 2026, codifying his earlier executive order on ELP enforcement into law. Drivers who fail a roadside English proficiency check now receive an out-of-service order on the spot. According to federal officials, more than 14,000 drivers have already been placed out of service for ELP violations.
CDL testing in English is now required. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that all CDL knowledge and skills tests must be administered in English. This is already in effect—not a proposal.
The FMCSA’s non-domiciled CDL rule is being enforced. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration finalized the “Restoring Integrity to the Issuance of Non-Domiciled Commercial Drivers Licenses” rule, which cracks down on states issuing CDLs to applicants domiciled in foreign jurisdictions without adequate vetting. The DOT has also removed over 7,000 CDL training providers from its Training Provider Registry, with another 4,500 on notice for potential removal.
These changes are already affecting the trucking workforce. If your company employs foreign-born drivers, you should assume that ELP enforcement and CDL eligibility scrutiny will only intensify from here.
On top of the enforcement actions already in place, Congress is now advancing legislation that would go significantly further. Dalilah’s Law (H.R. 5688) cleared the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on March 18, 2026, by a vote of 35–26. It is now headed to the full House floor for consideration. A companion bill has also been introduced in the Senate by Senator Jim Banks of Indiana.
The legislation is named after Dalilah Coleman, a five-year-old girl who was critically injured in June 2024 when a tractor-trailer collided with her family’s stopped vehicle in California. The driver was later identified as an individual in the country without lawful immigration status who had been issued a CDL by the state of California.
It is important to emphasize that Dalilah’s Law has not been enacted. It passed one committee in the House and still needs to clear the full House, pass the Senate, and be signed by the President. However, it has strong political momentum and broad industry support—48 out of 50 state trucking associations have endorsed it, along with the American Trucking Associations and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association. Republicans hold a majority in both chambers, and the bill aligns with the administration’s stated priorities. While passage is not guaranteed—the Senate typically requires 60 votes for most legislation—the political wind is clearly at this bill’s back.
Here are the key provisions transportation companies should know about:
CDL eligibility restrictions. Under the proposed law, states would be required to limit CDLs to U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and holders of a narrow set of work visas. The Senate version of the bill specifies E-2 (treaty investor), H-2A (temporary agricultural worker), and H-2B (temporary non-agricultural worker) visas as the only qualifying temporary statuses. Individuals without lawful immigration status would be categorically ineligible.
Mandatory recertification. The Senate version includes a 180-day recertification window. Every existing CDL holder in the country would need to re-verify their citizenship or immigration status, demonstrate English proficiency, and confirm that they passed their CDL tests in English—all within six months of enactment. States that fail to comply risk losing up to 12% of their federal highway funding.
English-only testing mandate. Dalilah’s Law would require that all CDL knowledge and skills exams be administered exclusively in English. While English-only testing is already being implemented by the DOT, this provision would codify it into federal statute, making it far more difficult to reverse in the future.
Ban on foreign dispatch services. This is the provision most directly relevant to many of my transportation company clients, and I will cover it in detail in the next section.
Crackdown on CDL training mills. The bill would end the current self-certification process for CDL training schools and require all providers to recertify within 18 months of enactment. This targets the proliferation of low-quality training operations that have issued credentials to underqualified drivers.
Of all the provisions in Dalilah’s Law, the proposed ban on foreign dispatch services may have the most immediate operational impact on transportation companies—even companies whose drivers are all U.S. citizens or green card holders.
Under the proposed legislation, motor carriers would be prohibited from using “foreign dispatch services,” defined as entities with a principal place of business outside the United States, Canada, or Mexico that coordinate freight movements for motor carriers. The bill would also prohibit the registration of foreign-based freight brokers.
This provision is framed as a response to rising freight fraud and cargo theft, which lawmakers have linked to overseas dispatch operations. But its scope is potentially much broader than fraud prevention.
Many legitimate trucking companies—including numerous clients I work with—rely extensively on dispatch teams located overseas, particularly in Eastern Europe. These are not fly-by-night operations. These companies employ hundreds of dispatchers, logistics coordinators, and support staff in foreign offices who handle scheduling, route coordination, load matching, and carrier communication. It is a well-established business model driven by cost efficiency and the availability of skilled, often bilingual, workers.
If Dalilah’s Law passes with this provision intact, companies that depend on foreign-based dispatch operations would need to restructure how they manage freight coordination. The key questions that remain unanswered are how broadly “foreign dispatch services” will be defined in practice, whether the ban applies only to third-party dispatch companies or also to a carrier’s own overseas employees, and what the enforcement mechanism and timeline would look like.
For companies that have built entire operational infrastructures around overseas dispatch teams, the transition would not be simple. These are often not entry-level positions. Experienced dispatchers develop deep knowledge of specific lanes, shipper preferences, carrier relationships, and load optimization. Replacing that institutional knowledge—especially on short notice—would be both expensive and operationally disruptive. Companies that recognize this reality early will have more options than those that wait.
These details will matter enormously. But the direction of policy is clear: Congress and the DOT are moving toward restricting the role of overseas operations in the U.S. trucking supply chain.
The proposed restrictions on who can hold a CDL represent potentially the most disruptive element of Dalilah’s Law for the broader trucking industry.
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data and industry analyses, foreign-born drivers currently make up roughly 18–19% of the U.S. trucking workforce—approximately 630,000 to 720,000 drivers out of a total pool of 3.5 to 3.8 million CDL holders. Not all of these drivers would be affected; many are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. But industry analysts have estimated that full implementation of the proposed eligibility restrictions, combined with the English proficiency mandates and non-domiciled CDL revocations, could put over 600,000 drivers at risk of disqualification.
If even a fraction of that number materializes, the impact on trucking capacity would be significant. FreightWaves has reported that such a contraction could trigger a sharp increase in freight rates, with some analysts describing the potential scenario as a “trucking super cycle” characterized by severe supply tightening and sustained rate increases.
For transportation companies that sponsor foreign-born drivers through employment-based immigration programs, the practical concern is this: even drivers who are lawfully present and working toward permanent residence may face CDL eligibility issues under the proposed rules if their current immigration status does not fall within the narrow categories the bill permits. This is an area where the final legislative language will be critical, and where companies should seek legal guidance specific to their workforce.
The 180-day recertification window deserves particular attention from fleet operators. Under the Senate version of the bill, every CDL holder in the country would need to be re-verified within six months. States that fail to complete this process risk losing federal highway funding. For carriers, this means that even drivers who are fully qualified could face administrative delays or temporary CDL suspensions if their state’s recertification process falls behind. The operational burden of managing this across a fleet of dozens or hundreds of drivers should not be underestimated.
It is also worth noting the proposed penalty structure. The bill proposes a lifetime disqualification for any individual who operates a commercial motor vehicle without the required immigration status, and civil penalties of at least $50,000 per violation for companies that use prohibited foreign dispatch services. States that fail to comply with the new CDL requirements risk losing up to 12% of their federal highway funding. These are not minor compliance issues — they are existential risks for companies that do not prepare.
Regardless of whether Dalilah’s Law passes in its current form, the trajectory of regulatory policy is unmistakable. CDL standards are tightening. English proficiency enforcement is already here. And the reliance on overseas dispatch operations is drawing federal attention.
Here are the steps I recommend to transportation company owners and operators right now:
Audit your driver qualification files. Confirm that every driver on your roster has current, documented proof of CDL eligibility, including citizenship or immigration status. Verify that ELP compliance is documented. If Dalilah’s Law passes with a 180-day recertification mandate, you do not want to be scrambling to compile this information under deadline.
Assess your reliance on foreign-based dispatch and support operations. If your company uses overseas dispatch teams, begin evaluating what your options would look like if that model were no longer available. Identify which roles are most critical and which could realistically be transitioned to U.S.-based operations.
Review the immigration status of your current workforce. If you employ foreign-born drivers or other key personnel on temporary visas or in adjustment-of-status, understand exactly where they stand. Some immigration statuses may remain CDL-eligible under the proposed rules; others may not. This is not a question you want to answer after legislation passes.
Consult with an immigration attorney who understands the transportation industry. The intersection of CDL regulations, DOT enforcement, and immigration law is complex and evolving rapidly. General advice is not sufficient—you need guidance specific to your company’s workforce composition and operational model.
If your company is navigating these changes and wants to understand how they affect your workforce, I’m happy to discuss your specific situation. You can reach me through our contact page to schedule a consultation.
If legislation like Dalilah’s Law passes—particularly the foreign dispatch ban and the CDL eligibility restrictions—transportation companies that currently rely on overseas workers may need to explore pathways to bring key personnel into permanent, compliant roles in the United States.
The EB-3 visa program is designed for exactly this kind of situation. It allows U.S. employers to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residence (a green card) in positions where there is a demonstrated shortage of available U.S. workers. The EB-3 “Other Workers” category covers positions requiring less than two years of training or experience—which can include truck drivers, dispatchers, and logistics support roles.
The process requires the employer to go through labor certification (known as PERM), which involves proving that no qualified U.S. workers are available for the position at the prevailing wage. It takes time—typically a year or more from start to finish, and longer when visa backlogs are factored in. But for companies that are planning ahead, it provides a compliant, long-term workforce solution.
For companies that currently employ skilled dispatchers overseas, the EB-3 program could offer a way to bring those workers to the U.S. and retain their institutional knowledge and operational expertise—rather than losing them entirely to a legislative ban. A dispatcher who has spent years learning your company’s routes, your carrier relationships, and your shipper preferences is not easily replaceable. If you have the option to sponsor that person for permanent residence and a U.S.-based role, the investment may be well worth it compared to the cost of rebuilding those capabilities from scratch.
The same logic applies to truck drivers. Companies that are already sponsoring drivers through the EB-3 process are positioning those workers for long-term CDL eligibility as lawful permanent residents—the one immigration status that is unambiguously protected under every version of the proposed legislation. Drivers with green cards would face no eligibility issues under Dalilah’s Law.
I have written in more detail about the EB-3 “Other Workers” category and how the sponsorship process works in a separate article on our blog. I also covered the specific dynamics of sponsoring truck drivers through the H-2B visa program, and how EB-3 petitions interact with temporary visa applications, in another post.
Every company’s situation is different. If you want to understand whether EB-3 sponsorship makes sense for your drivers, dispatchers, or other key personnel, contact us to discuss your specific circumstances.
The transportation industry is in a period of rapid and consequential regulatory change. Some of these changes—English proficiency enforcement, English-only CDL testing, the crackdown on non-domiciled CDLs—are already in effect. Others, including the broader CDL eligibility restrictions, the mandatory recertification window, and the foreign dispatch ban, are proposed under Dalilah’s Law and still working through Congress.
Whether or not this specific bill passes in its current form, the direction of policy is clear. Companies that stay informed, assess their exposure, and plan proactively will be in the strongest position—regardless of what the final rules look like.
If you have questions about how these developments affect your company or your workers, I’m here to help.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Immigration laws and policies are subject to change, and individual circumstances vary. For advice specific to your situation, please consult with a qualified immigration attorney.
Oleg Gherasimov, Esq.
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