He received a Juris Doctor in 1989 from the University of Texas School of Law.

From 2007 to 2008, he worked as a solo practitioner and part-time as a Brownsville municipal court judge.

From 2011 to 2015, he served as the presiding judge of the Fifth Administrative Judicial Region of Texas.

[2][3] On September 18, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Olvera to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, to the seat vacated by Judge Hilda G. Tagle, who assumed senior status on December 31, 2012.

[4] On December 16, 2014, his nomination was returned to the president due to the sine die adjournment of the 113th Congress.