Hello wsc:
Thank you for your kind words and your follow-up question.
The answer to it is yes, you are a nonresident alien for 2016 under these circumstances. The reasoning is as follows. Since you were on an F1 student visa (since 2014), your time from 2014 to October 2016 is considered an "exempt" period, for purposes of the IRS Substantial Presence Test. Once you converted to an H1B visa, there were not enough calendar days remaining in 2016 for you to meet the 183 days required to satisfy the Substantial Presence Test. Thus, you are a nonresident alien for 2016. However, if you continue to remain in the United States for 2017, under an H1B visa, your US tax status will change to that of resident alien for the 2017 tax year.
Thank you again for your inquiry.
