Check got returned but bank says it was never submitted

[CrisAAL 0]

I'm hoping someone can help me figure this out...

I had my biometrics appointment earlier this week and all seemed to be moving forward nicely, until we received 2 invoices from USCIS indicating that our checks were returned. The invoices (one for each check) charge $30.00 per returned check and indicate "Return reason: Account frozen". We called the bank and they said that there is no issue with the account and that they have no record of those checks being submitted, much less returned.

So now we're trying to get in touch with USCIS (there's a phone number for questions on the invoice) which puts us on hold for a while, but I'm wondering how can we prove anything? The bank says they can't provide proof of something that isn't there, and I'm thinking USCIS is likely to just say "well, that happened and you need to pay the fee"... We want to make sure that this is resolved ASAP; it's upsetting to think that the case has been put on hold for apparently no good reason. But we still wouldn't want to "waste" $60.00 because someone made a mistake...

Has anyone experienced a similar issue? Any thoughts?

Your help is much appreciated!

[CrisAAL 0]

Update:

We finally got through to a USCIS agent after calling numerous times, being put on hold and then hung up on, getting voicemail... Well, after a very frustrating 1h30...

The agent did not sound surprised at all, which tells me this must happen regularly. Since I couldn't find any other thread around here addressing this issue, I hope this will be useful for others who may run into the same problem.

We were able make the payment via phone by credit card, so that was resolved immediately. She also waived the $30 fee and will be waiting for us to e-mail her a letter from the bank stating that the checks were never submitted.

So the good news is that is was easily and quickly resolved, which is a big relief! But you have to be really patient to be able to get through to someone on the phone.

[S_R 148]

Fantastic. I'm happy for you guys and thanks for sharing.

Edited October 30, 2015 by S_R

[CrisAAL 0]

Thank you S_R

I realize it may seem silly (especially in retrospect considering how quickly it was resolved), but when dealing with this stuff we want to make sure there are no hiccups and anything that happens hangs the fear of delay over our heads!

Well, now we just go back to waiting patiently for the next steps!

[heo luoi 206]

Guess I'm still confused what the issue really was? Just USCIS literally screwed up saying your account was frozen for no reason? And the resolution was to simply just keep calling the # on the notice?