diff --git a/common/workflow-core/src/main/scala/org/apache/texera/amber/core/storage/result/iceberg/IcebergDocument.scala b/common/workflow-core/src/main/scala/org/apache/texera/amber/core/storage/result/iceberg/IcebergDocument.scala
index e238ab7417a..e10152cdaeb 100644
--- a/common/workflow-core/src/main/scala/org/apache/texera/amber/core/storage/result/iceberg/IcebergDocument.scala
+++ b/common/workflow-core/src/main/scala/org/apache/texera/amber/core/storage/result/iceberg/IcebergDocument.scala
@@ -258,6 +258,12 @@ private[storage] class IcebergDocument[T >: Null <: AnyRef](
             return false
           }
 
+          // If the current file still has records, return immediately without touching the catalog.
+          // Only when the current file is exhausted do we check for more files and possibly refresh.
+          if (currentRecordIterator.hasNext) {
+            return true
+          }
+
           if (!usableFileIterator.hasNext) {
             usableFileIterator = seekToUsableFile()
           }
diff --git a/common/workflow-core/src/test/scala/org/apache/texera/amber/storage/result/iceberg/IcebergDocumentSpec.scala b/common/workflow-core/src/test/scala/org/apache/texera/amber/storage/result/iceberg/IcebergDocumentSpec.scala
index fe06a47d191..8fdf039f3ea 100644
--- a/common/workflow-core/src/test/scala/org/apache/texera/amber/storage/result/iceberg/IcebergDocumentSpec.scala
+++ b/common/workflow-core/src/test/scala/org/apache/texera/amber/storage/result/iceberg/IcebergDocumentSpec.scala
@@ -19,9 +19,11 @@
 
 package org.apache.texera.amber.storage.result.iceberg
 
+import org.apache.texera.amber.config.StorageConfig
 import org.apache.texera.amber.core.storage.model.{VirtualDocument, VirtualDocumentSpec}
-import org.apache.texera.amber.core.storage.{DocumentFactory, VFSURIFactory}
+import org.apache.texera.amber.core.storage.{DocumentFactory, IcebergCatalogInstance, VFSURIFactory}
 import org.apache.texera.amber.core.tuple.{Attribute, AttributeType, Schema, Tuple}
+import org.apache.iceberg.Table
 import org.apache.texera.amber.core.virtualidentity.{
   ExecutionIdentity,
   OperatorIdentity,
@@ -35,9 +37,11 @@ import org.apache.iceberg.data.Record
 import org.apache.iceberg.{Schema => IcebergSchema}
 import org.scalatest.BeforeAndAfterAll
 
+import java.lang.reflect.{InvocationHandler, Method, Proxy}
 import java.net.URI
 import java.sql.Timestamp
 import java.util.UUID
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger
 
 class IcebergDocumentSpec extends VirtualDocumentSpec[Tuple] with BeforeAndAfterAll {
 
@@ -99,6 +103,78 @@ class IcebergDocumentSpec extends VirtualDocumentSpec[Tuple] with BeforeAndAfter
     DocumentFactory.openDocument(uri)._1.asInstanceOf[VirtualDocument[Tuple]]
   }
 
+  it should "not trigger excessive catalog seeks when reading the last file (lazy file advancement)" in {
+    val batchSize = StorageConfig.icebergTableCommitBatchSize
+    val items = generateSampleItems().take(batchSize * 2)
+    val (batch1, batch2) = items.splitAt(batchSize)
+
+    // Write two separate batches to produce two committed data files.
+    // This also initialises `document.catalog` (lazy val) with the real catalog, which
+    // is why we open a fresh reader document below after injecting the spy.
+    val writer1 = document.writer(UUID.randomUUID().toString)
+    writer1.open(); batch1.foreach(writer1.putOne); writer1.close()
+
+    val writer2 = document.writer(UUID.randomUUID().toString)
+    writer2.open(); batch2.foreach(writer2.putOne); writer2.close()
+
+    val refreshCount = new AtomicInteger(0)
+    val realCatalog = IcebergCatalogInstance.getInstance()
+    IcebergCatalogInstance.replaceInstance(catalogWithRefreshSpy(realCatalog, refreshCount))
+    // Open a fresh reader: its `catalog` lazy val hasn't been initialised yet, so it
+    // will pick up the spy catalog on first access inside seekToUsableFile.
+    val readerDoc = getDocument
+    try {
+      val retrieved = readerDoc.get().toList
+      assert(
+        retrieved.toSet == items.toSet,
+        "All records from both files should be read correctly"
+      )
+      // With lazy file advancement seekToUsableFile() (and therefore table.refresh()) is called:
+      //   once on iterator creation, once when the last file is exhausted → 2 total.
+      // Without the fix it would be called once per hasNext() on the last file → O(batchSize).
+      assert(
+        refreshCount.get() <= 4,
+        s"table.refresh() should be called at most 4 times (lazy advancement), but was ${refreshCount.get()}"
+      )
+    } finally {
+      IcebergCatalogInstance.replaceInstance(realCatalog)
+    }
+  }
+
+  /** Returns a dynamic proxy for `realTable` that increments `counter` on every `refresh()` call. */
+  private def tableWithRefreshSpy(realTable: Table, counter: AtomicInteger): Table =
+    Proxy
+      .newProxyInstance(
+        classOf[Table].getClassLoader,
+        Array(classOf[Table]),
+        new InvocationHandler {
+          override def invoke(proxy: Object, method: Method, args: Array[Object]): Object = {
+            if (method.getName == "refresh") counter.incrementAndGet()
+            if (args == null) method.invoke(realTable) else method.invoke(realTable, args: _*)
+          }
+        }
+      )
+      .asInstanceOf[Table]
+
+  /** Returns a dynamic proxy for `realCatalog` that wraps every loaded `Table` with a refresh spy. */
+  private def catalogWithRefreshSpy(realCatalog: Catalog, counter: AtomicInteger): Catalog =
+    Proxy
+      .newProxyInstance(
+        classOf[Catalog].getClassLoader,
+        Array(classOf[Catalog]),
+        new InvocationHandler {
+          override def invoke(proxy: Object, method: Method, args: Array[Object]): Object = {
+            val result =
+              if (args == null) method.invoke(realCatalog) else method.invoke(realCatalog, args: _*)
+            if (method.getName == "loadTable" && result != null)
+              tableWithRefreshSpy(result.asInstanceOf[Table], counter)
+            else
+              result
+          }
+        }
+      )
+      .asInstanceOf[Catalog]
+
   override def generateSampleItems(): List[Tuple] = {
     val baseTuples = List(
       Tuple