Hi, I just found myself in the exact same situation with you. I came to the States in 2013 with J1 student visa for one month, fully sponsored by foreign country. Then I came in 2016 with a J1 scholar visa, my tax status in 2016 was non-resident alien, however, the glacier system treated me as resident alien in 2017, which I expected myself to be still non-resident alien. I've got the same thought with you, we are not subject to substantial presence test and I believe the year of J1 student should not be counted in because I never paid by US.
I've been doing research about those IRS regulations also consulted with CFA, still without any clue. Did you figure it out ?
