I-485 & I-765 rejected after USCIS accepted payment and biometrics, attorney overpaid I-765 fee. Has anyone dealt with this?
Hi everyone,
I’m looking for advice from anyone who has experienced something similar, especially a USCIS rejection involving an incorrect or excess filing fee after the applications had already been accepted and processed.
I filed Form I-485 (Adjustment of Status) together with Form I-765 (EAD) through my attorney in May 2026.
Here is the timeline:
May 11, 2026: USCIS received my I-485 and I-765 package.
June 10: The filing-fee payments were processed and USCIS issued receipt notices for both applications.
June 23: I completed my biometrics after USCIS issued the biometrics appointment notice.
For more than two months after filing, both cases appeared to be processing normally.
July 31/August 1: Both cases suddenly changed to “Case Was Rejected” because of a filing-fee/payment issue.
August 13: USCIS issued a Notification of Fee Refund for my I-765. I never requested or initiated a refund.
After reviewing the filing, it appears my attorney may have overpaid the I-765 filing fee when it was filed together with my I-485.
I’m now trying to determine whether that incorrect payment amount is what ultimately caused USCIS to reject the filing.
What confuses me most is that USCIS did not reject the package immediately. They accepted the payment, issued receipt numbers, created the cases in my USCIS account, scheduled biometrics, and accepted my biometrics before rejecting the applications more than two months later.
I’m trying to figure out the best way to correct this without unnecessarily starting everything over.
Has anyone experienced anything similar?
In particular:
Has USCIS ever rejected your I-485/I-765 after issuing receipt notices and completing biometrics because the attorney submitted the wrong fee or overpaid a filing fee?
If your attorney submitted an incorrect fee, was USCIS able to correct/reopen the case, or did you have to completely refile?
Can an overpayment cause USCIS to reject an application even after the payment was initially processed?
If the I-765 payment was the problem, why would USCIS also reject the concurrently filed I-485?
Why would USCIS issue receipts and process biometrics before discovering the fee problem?
Does the later I-765 refund notification indicate that USCIS originally accepted/processed the payment and then reversed it?
Is there any way for USCIS/Lockbox to reopen or reinstate the original filings because the problem was caused by an incorrect fee submitted by the attorney?
Would contacting the USCIS Lockbox be useful in this situation?
Has anyone successfully resolved something like this through a congressional inquiry or CIS Ombudsman request?
Would a Form I-290B/motion ever be appropriate for this type of situation, or is refiling generally the only option after a rejection?
If I have to refile, can USCIS reuse the biometrics I already completed?
Is there any way to preserve the original May filing date, or would a new filing automatically receive a new filing date?
Should my attorney be responsible for correcting/refiling the case and any additional filing fees if the rejection resulted from their fee calculation/error?
For anyone whose attorney made a similar filing-fee mistake, how did the attorney handle it?
How long did it take to get the situation corrected?
Is there anything else I should be doing immediately while waiting for USCIS, my attorney, or congressional assistance?
I have documentation showing the original payments, USCIS receipt notices, biometrics appointment/completion, rejection notices, and the later I-765 refund notification.
I have already been trying to get clarification because the sequence of events doesn’t make sense to me: payment processed → receipt notices issued → biometrics completed → cases rejected for a payment/fee issue → I-765 refund initiated by USCIS.
I’m especially interested in hearing from anyone who went through this personally or from immigration attorneys who have seen a similar situation.
What ultimately worked for you? Were you able to get USCIS to correct the original case, or did you have to refile everything?
Thank you for any advice or experiences you can share.