@Engineer101 , Namaste ji
I am not sure that I understand your issue fully ( because I had already mentioned above that FICA requirement has nothing to do with tax residency) nor do I understand the comment about COA's ( what is a COA ? ) opinion. I have you the ref. on which my opinion rests. Thus I am very confused.
AS you are probably aware ( and unlike in India ) a tax professional does not need to be a CPA or a tax attorney or EA. Many states have their own means of certifying / controlling whom gets to be a tax professional ( including IRS' own regime ). Methinks you should consider sending me PM ( just NO PII --- Personally Identifiable Information) with details of your situation.
While I am a volunteer here at TurboTax, generally dealing with international taxation / tax treaties etc., I was a tax professional licensed in California for more than a decade and lived in MI for 25 years and volunteered for the US Treasury for three years. This is just to let you know that I am familiar with tax laws ( US, CA and MI ) and as in the past, do abide by the dictates/requirements of circular 230 ( IRS).
Please consider sending me PM ( note 2025 is about to end ) and perhaps time is of the essence.
Namaste ji
pk
