Filing 1040NR in community property state

Hello! I am a little confused about filing a 1040NR in a community property state (California). I am reading the 1040NR instructions and I am still not sure that W2 and self-employment income has to be split between the spouses.
Thank you for your help!

Do they have a California filing requirement? How? Why? It seems odd that a non-US citizen who is not living in the United States would need to file a state tax return.

They were living in California with J1 and J2 visas. For 2 years they filed as non resident in federal return, and as residents in CA.

If they were living in California they should have been filing a regular 1040. Unless they were there less than 183 days and did not have green cards. And yes the community property laws would apply.

The J1 visa is different. They file a form to exclude the days present in the US, and do this for 2 years. They file 1040NR for two years.

Everything, including self-employment income, is split mid-line for purposes of income tax, but each one pays their own self-employment tax.

Section 879(a) provides in part:

General rule. In the case of a married couple 1 or both of whom are nonresident alien individuals and who have community income for the taxable year, such community income shall be treated as follows:
(1) Earned income * * * shall be treated as the income of the spouse who rendered the personal services,
(2) Trade or business income * * * shall be treated as provided in section 1402(a)(5), * * *.