Over 14,000 Mexicans in USA Join IMSS as Independent Workers

This article originally appeared in the June 15th, 2025 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier leftist daily newspaper.

The Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) reported that more than 14,000 Mexicans living in the United States of America have registered as Independent Workers (IW), thereby obtaining benefits from five insurance policies for themselves and their dependents living in the country.

Registration is done through the 53 Mexican consulates in that country and costs $88 per month, approximately 1,700 pesos.

In addition to medical, hospital, and pharmaceutical care, self-employed members receive benefits such as workers’ compensation insurance; financial support in the event of disability or death; retirement, old-age, and severance pay; as well as access to childcare and social benefits, reported Luisa Obrador Garrido Cuesta, head of the Directorate of Incorporation and Collection (DIR).

Once nationals apply for IMSS registration, a payment line is generated with the option to pay monthly, every two, three, six months, or for the full year. Francisco Navarro, head of the Scientific Research Department at the DIR, recalled that this insurance scheme existed in the 1973 Social Security Law, but the 1997 reform limited the benefits to medical care and introduced some restrictions.

With a new legal amendment in 2020, during the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, full coverage was restored for independent workers.

In turn, the head of the Social Security Incorporation Unit, Eduardo Alcaraz Prous, invited people working in the United States and Mexico to register as PTIs. This scheme offers greater flexibility and does not require an employment relationship with an employer or even simulation to join the Institute.