No, you cannot do that, because information flows from the federal return to the state return in TurboTax. Since you cannot use the Free Edition for a federal return, you cannot use it for a state return. See the software for sprintax instead:
NON RESIDENT ALIEN
If you are a non-resident alien, your return must be filed on Form 1040NR, which cannot be prepared using TurboTax. You can use TT’s partner, sprintax:
https://www.sprintax.com/non-resident-alien-tax-1040nr-turbotax.html
Most international students need to file Form 1040NR which is not available in any TurboTax product. For international students, we recommend SprinTax.com.
Thanks for your reply. I want to ask the CA state tax filing, not federal. Can international students use your Free Edition for state tax?
No, you cannot do that, because information flows from the federal return to the state return in TurboTax. Since you cannot use the Free Edition for a federal return, you cannot use it for a state return. See the software for sprintax instead:
NON RESIDENT ALIEN
If you are a non-resident alien, your return must be filed on Form 1040NR, which cannot be prepared using TurboTax. You can use TT’s partner, sprintax:
https://www.sprintax.com/non-resident-alien-tax-1040nr-turbotax.html