About the Firm
Simplifying the process for you
One firm for your U.S. immigration and business needs
Tigris Legal PLLC is a New York boutique practice serving clients nationwide and internationally — in English and Japanese.
I work with two kinds of clients. Individuals and families pursuing green cards — including self-petitions such as the EB-2 National Interest Waiver — work visas, citizenship, and everything in between. And businesses entering or operating in the U.S. market, from entity formation and corporate governance to work visas for founders, executives, and employees.
What ties it together: Every case handled directly by the founding attorney — no case managers, no handoffs — with the training of a top-tier Tokyo firm and years in New York firms behind it. Clients describe the firm’s work the same way in review after review: fast, thorough, and personally attentive. I built the firm to work that way, using modern technology for efficiency and reserving the attorney’s attention for what actually decides cases — strategy, evidence, and persuasive writing.
Akiko Yamada, Esq.
Before Akiko Yamada ever filed an immigration petition for a client, she won one for her own family.
Having come to the U.S. on an F-1 student visa and then worked on an H-1B, Akiko personally navigated the U.S. immigration system — culminating in green cards for her own family through the EB-2 National Interest Waiver, a category she now handles as the core of her practice. She knows what is at stake in every filing: not paperwork, but careers, families, and futures. That experience is why Tigris Legal exists, and it shapes how every case is handled — quickly, thoroughly, and personally.
Her legal training is unusually deep for an immigration attorney. She began her career at one of Japan’s largest law firms, practicing corporate and finance law for five years, then earned her LL.M. at New York University School of Law and spent years for complex commercial litigation and medical malpractice cases in New York. That combination — corporate law and litigation advocacy — now serves both sides of her practice: persuasive, evidence-driven petitions for individuals, and integrated entity formation, governance, and visa work for businesses entering the U.S. market.
At Tigris Legal, every case is handled directly by Akiko — in English or Japanese.
EDUCATION:
New York University School of Law, LL.M.
Stern School of Business, Advanced Professional Certificate in Law & Business
University of Tokyo, LL.B.
BAR ADMISSIONS:
New York
Japan (registration currently inactive)
MEMBERSHIP:
American Bar Association
American Immigration Lawyers Association
LANGUAGES:
English
Japanese (native)
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
What Clients Say
Five-star reviews from clients around the world, in their own languages.
Find out where your case stands
Free case evaluation for employers, EB-1/EB-2 NIW/EB-5 self-petitions, family-based cases, citizenship, reentry permits, and green card renewals.
Strategy consultations for all other matters — $200 for 30 minutes, $350 for 60 minutes, fully credited toward your fees if you retain me within 30 days.
日本語でのご相談も承っております。
English 
Japanese