I am a J1 visa holder as a post doc in a univ in NY. My wife and two kids have J2 visa but are yet to arrive in America, I still take care of them from here.How to file?

[JohnR1]

Please note that J-1 visa holders who substantially comply with the requirements of that visa, and who do not exceed the duration of their specific Visitor Exchange Program, are exempt from the Substantial Presence Test used to determine eligibility for being a resident alien for U.S. income tax purposes: this means that you are considered a nonresident alien.

As a nonresident alien you will need to file a Form 1040NR to report any U.S.-source income you have. TurboTax does not support Form 1040NR, so you will not be able to use TurboTax for your specific tax situation.

You may want to check out Sprintax, who are specifically geared towards international student nonresident aliens with 1040NR filing requirements.

For more information please see IRS Publication 519, US Tax Guide for Aliens:

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p519.pdf