I arrived on a scholar visa it was our first time in the US.
We still have the same J1 and J2 status for research scholars. We had to renew the visa for this third-year extension.
We are from France and have a tax treaty (see here for example) that prevents us to pay taxes in the US for the first two years. For 207 and 2018 I had to fill an 8843 Statement for Exempt Individuals form.
I checked last year in 2019 I paid on my salary state taxes (social security and medicare) but not federal taxes (due to the treaty).
Thanks
