Federal Tax Return of J1 Scholar

There's a saying: "Nothing is certain but death and taxes". People in US start to get busy in March and April, cause this is so-called "tax-season" in US. Many documents and forms need to complete and submit.

2013 is my first year as a research scholar in US, holding  a J1 visa. As a J1 visa holder, I'm "non resident alien" in US for my first two years, but after that, I will be "resident alien" in US. Two different identities, mean two different ways to apply for federal tax return.

The steps to apply for federal tax return is pretty easy, suppose you're using Glacier for online tax process，which was specially designed for non-resident aliens.
1. Sign into this system, and choose to complete tax return, you will be redirected to the GTP system (which is short for Glacier Tax Prepare system)
2. Basically, before starting applying for federal tax return, you should already got your W-2, and 1042-S forms (or other forms, depends on your visa type and identify in US). Just copy the contents in above forms into the GTP system.
3. GTP will generate some forms for you, the only thing you need to do is print out these forms, sign and date them, and then mail them to IRS (Internal Revenue Service).
* Somethings need to be kept in mind are:
   - Copy those printed out forms before mailing them to IRS, since you need to keep those copies for certain period of time (usually, 3 calender years)
   - File separated forms in separated envelopes to IRS if you have spouse or dependents in US who's also need to submit forms.

That's all, enjoy life, enjoy tax!