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Hey u/PandaDanee ! Just saw this post and wanted to give my two cents. I just received my "Ready for Visa" e-mail from IRCC after nearly a year of prep-work and paperwork, etc. I'm getting my Federal Skilled Workers Express Entry Visa so that I can move to Ontario to live closer to my girlfriend. I'm a 34 year old male from Boston and work in information technology myself.

The best place to start with Express Entry is to take the eligibility test here:
http://onlineservices-servicesenligne.cic.gc.ca/eapp/eapp.do

You might want to try the quiz with and without an existing job offer, because due to your age and low years of experience you may need to have a pre-existing job offer to add those points to your score.

Check your score versus those of the previous rounds of invitations to see if you have a score, near, or above the scores of recent invitees. If you don't score close, you may want to look at the master's degree/study visa route of living in Canada.

A really great source of information that I found helped me greatly during my process was 15miles.info . It was written by a couple from NYC that moved to Toronto and wrote about the process in detail. I think they've taken most of the info off of their site as they've now written a book on the topic, which is here:

https://www.amazon.com/Moving-Canada-detailed-immigration-Americans/dp/1540880664/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510024029&sr=8-1&keywords=moving+to+canada

Good luck! Let us know if you have any other questions!

You can print the FD-258 fingerprint form on some light cardstock (example-- you can find smaller packs in most arts & crafts sections of stores) and do your fingerprints yourself. There are instructions included with the form that tell you how to take your fingerprints.

I used an inkless pad (like this) to do mine and sent multiple sets just in case the prints weren't quite right. I included a cover letter along with my confirmation printout stating that I was only requesting one report and including extra sets of fingerprints for the aforementioned reason.

As far as cutting down to size, the software should appropriately position and size the photo (head to chin distance, etc.) with your assistance. It'll be a tool like this on the kiosk. The issue is that it will print on a 4x6 and then you have to cut the frame of the photo out to the 50 mm wide X 70 mm high.

If they can print the photo you could always cut them out yourself using a tool like this to get a consistent straight edge.

Of course, if you use the online tool, you can print 10 copies with four photos each for $6 (10 prints at 60 cents per 4 x 6"). The way the tool works is that it prints the four photos all right next to each other with a lip at the bottom. Only three cuts would be required (between top and bottom photos, between left and right photos, white lip at the bottom).

Why print ten copies? To save you time/gas going back to CVS if you make a mistake cutting some of them.

Once cut, you'd just need to label the back with the passport info and Citizenship photo requirements.

However, the requirements technically state that the photos must be taken by a commercial photographer and not just printed. So I would try to get the photo taken by the CVS worker and then printed at the kiosk. It's their responsibility to cut it correctly and guarantee the photos (that's why 2 photos cost $15, they refund or re-take the photos if they're rejected), and the software that CVS licenses provides an option to size/validate the photos according to the requirements.

And then self-size/print on 4x6 at CVS/label yourself as a last resort.