ELVIS ACOSTA GARRIDO
Miami,Florida
Summary
I have nearly ten years of experience in the U.S. Immigration, broadcasting, and entertainment industries. I have a proven track record in handling U.S. Immigration and Visa matters, including O1, H1B, P, E, and TN visas, as well as employment-based green card applications. My expertise extends to employment relocation and onboarding, production legal, and compliance. I am passionate about designing and implementing solid and effective processes. I have consistently delivered excellent outcomes in my critical roles for distinguished organizations, including leading Hispanic broadcasters, such as TelevisaUnivision and NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. I am confident that my diverse background and skill sets will significantly benefit your organization.
Overview
8
8
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Production Clearance
TELEVISAUNIVISION (VIX)
11.2022 - 03.2024
- Negotiated licensing terms and fees with major content providers for TelevisaUnivision's production titled "Algo Personal con Jorge Ramos" and ensured TelevisaUnivision's legal requirements were met
- As a result, I achieved over $70,000 in budget savings for the show's second season by obtaining high-quality content from major providers for free or a minimal licensing fee.
- Managed a high volume of clearance requests, ensuring efficient processing and deadline adherence.
- Created a thorough log and workflow to track and document licensing terms and specific content usage in each episode
- This involved implementing a Third-Party Materials Log containing time codes, type of usage, licensing terms, and fees
- This allowed production executives visibility into content acquisitions and enhanced the tracking of licensing terms
- I significantly reduced internal communications (with Rights Management, Finance, and Legal departments) and legal conflicts associated with the lack of adherence to license agreements due to this implementation.
- Educated and trained production crew, executives, and post-production team on legal ways to use third-party materials, including Fair Use, Authorization of Usage, Free to Use, and Licensing
- I minimized incidents associated with the lack of knowledge in using copyrighted materials without proper authorization by providing the production team with the key aspects and constant support.
Production Manager Compliance
NBCUNIVERSAL TELEMUNDO
03.2020 - 12.2021
- Oversaw diligence functions in collaboration with Corporate Risk Management for productions under the Entertainment TV & Hispanic Streaming Group
- I successfully mitigated and reduced risks related to negative press, production liability, and legal and employment conflicts resulting from non-compliance with company policies.
- Represented the Entertainment Group before the NBCUniversal Telemundo Compliance Committee.
- Developed and implemented production plans to ensure business continuity, including a COVID-19 safety strategy for daily programming, live production, and award shows
- I significantly ensured business continuity for all entertainment and unscripted productions during the COVID-19 pandemic, including live shows and daily programming
- As a result of my outstanding performance, I was honored as an Outstanding Production Manager by the Telly Awards in 2022.
- Spearheaded the EP (Entertainment Partners Payroll) hiring process for short and long-term production personnel
- To streamline the payroll process, I replaced a laborious manual process with a supported DocuSign workflow that includes onboarding paperwork, payroll templates and previews, and internal approvals.
- Handled and resolved day-to-day production compliance issues
- I provided crucial guidance to Senior Management in anticipating activities that may pose significant risks to production while filtering and flagging material issues to management.
Compliance Supervisor
NBCUNIVERSAL TELEMUNDO
10.2019 - 03.2020
- Supervised the Vendor Management team to ensure that providers were properly onboarded and met insurance requirements
- To improve this process, I was a key part in designing and implementing a vendor management tool that integrated SharePoint and DocuSign features
- This tool was used to handle day-to-day requests and manage vendor data across the organization
- The new process replaced an Excel sheet containing data from over 7,000 vendors worldwide and optimized the onboarding process
- Additionally, the process we implemented has been adopted by other businesses within NBCUniversal.
- Reviewed processes and established conditions to manage a high volume of production legal documents, such as appearance releases, casting applications, conflict forms, and agreements
- I replaced obsolete processes by implementing tools like Synchronize to store legal forms and sensitive data
- I also replaced hardcopy appearance releases and other production legal forms with digital versions, eliminating the use of printed documents.
Entertainment Paralegal
NBCUNIVERSAL TELEMUNDO
10.2018 - 09.2019
- Responsible for negotiating contract terms and compensation of various entertainment professionals, such as talents, writers, and production crew members, in connection with television scripting.
- Drafted agreements, production services agreements, vendor services agreements, and notices.
- Ensured proper contractual condition analysis and created summaries with the most relevant information for executive producers.
- Managed relationships with the production leaders and provided support on daily production activities from the legal perspective.
- Created a SAG – AFTRA talent monthly report for unionized scripted television productions.
Visa Specialist
NBCUNIVERSAL TELEMUNDO
06.2016 - 10.2018
- Provided U.S Immigration and visa services to all the business units within the company.
- Managed high-volume caseloads, maintaining accuracy and efficiency in processing visa applications.
- Streamlined visa application process across the organization by implementing efficient workflow practices and utilizing advanced software tools.
- Before I took on this role, there was no defined process for visa applications, and each department handled it differently.
- Improved customer satisfaction with timely communication and thorough follow-ups on visa application statuses.
- Developed training materials for new Visa Specialists, facilitating their smooth transition into the role and improving overall team performance.
- Collaborated with immigration officers and consular staff to expedite the resolution of complex cases.
- Provided essential support to the Human Resources department on visas and green card applications for top executives and employees.
- Created and implemented an immigration tracker to follow up on employees' immigration statuses to ensure compliance.
- Supported the Human Resources department and payroll teams on I-9 employment verification for temporal and staff members.
- Established positive relationships with local embassies and consulates, fostering a cooperative environment for efficient processing of visa applications.
- This led to significant cost savings and made it easier to obtain U.S
- Gathered required documentation and prepared non-immigrant and immigrant visa petitions for artists, executives, and production crew members.
- Responsible for ensuring that labor visas for talent, producers, and executives were approved on time and within the estimated budget.
Education
Lawyer – Law -
Universidad Bicentenaria De Aragua
09.2011
Skills
- US Immigration, Consular, and Visas processes
- Team Management and Leading
- Microsoft 365 proficient
- Project management
- Record Keeping and Reporting
- Compliance
- Decision-Making Competence
- Problem-Solving
- Employment hiring and onboarding
- Process Design & Implementation
- Employment Relocation & Onboarding
- Operations & Logistics
- Production Planning and Execution
- Budget Management
- Risk & Vendor Management
Accomplishments
- I was honored with the Bronze Statuette by the Telly Awards for Outstanding Production Management.
- I have designed and implemented processes for visa applications, vendor management, and data gathering currently in place within the organizations I worked for.
- I have been able to replace outdated and time-consuming processes with automated tools, reducing manual and exhausting tasks.
Certification
- Foundations of Project Management, Google Coursera, USA, 12/2022
- Project Management, Google Coursera, USA, 12/2024
- Patent Law, NALA - the Association of Paralegals, USA, 07/2016
- ABC of Family Law, NALA - the Association of Paralegals, USA, 07/2016
Languages
English
Native or Bilingual
Spanish
Native or Bilingual
Timeline
Production Clearance
TELEVISAUNIVISION (VIX)
11.2022 - 03.2024
Production Manager Compliance
NBCUNIVERSAL TELEMUNDO
03.2020 - 12.2021
Compliance Supervisor
NBCUNIVERSAL TELEMUNDO
10.2019 - 03.2020
Entertainment Paralegal
NBCUNIVERSAL TELEMUNDO
10.2018 - 09.2019
Visa Specialist
NBCUNIVERSAL TELEMUNDO
06.2016 - 10.2018
Lawyer – Law -
Universidad Bicentenaria De Aragua
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