I don't know the answer by RAW, but I'd allow it in my game - there's not really a good reason IMHO to force him to take it at level-up. Flavor-wise, maybe he's spending his time working on the techniques that will result in him acquiring the feat next level.
M
By RAW you have to take the feat when you get it. Your son may want to put off taking his second level of fighter untill next level. However I always allow my players to retrain 1 skill or feat every level, as I dont think people should have to be hemmed in forever by their feat choices.
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Another thing to remember is that fighters get the ability to forget and relearn feats:
from the PRD:
Upon reaching 4th level, and every four levels thereafter (8th, 12th, and so on), a fighter can choose to learn a new bonus feat in place of a bonus feat he has already learned. In effect, the fighter loses the bonus feat in exchange for the new one. The old feat cannot be one that was used as a prerequisite for another feat, prestige class, or other ability. A fighter can only change one feat at any given level and must choose whether or not to swap the feat at the time he gains a new bonus feat for the level.
I would say he needs to use it for something now. But he is going to get another feat next level anyway. The one thing that fighters are never short on is feats. I mean, by level 20 a human fighter will have 22 feats.. O.o
Well by RAW he wouldn't be able to hold off on the feat choice for a level; he'd have to take it now.
If he's taking fighter next level, he won't get any feats. But if he continues with fighter levels he'll get 2 feats at 9th (one for 4th lvl fighter, and one for his 9th HD). And he'd have the option of switching out one of his fighter feats since its his fourth fighter level.
From an optimization standpoint, hes much better off taking something useful now and having the benefit of this feat for 2 levels and then picking up Imp TWF at 9th, rather than not getting any benefit for one level and getting Imp TWF at 8th.
What kind of build is he making anyways? It seems as if he has 5 levels of a medium BAB class (rogue would be my first guess, monk second). 6th lvl in either of those classes is pretty strong, they each get a +1 BAB and +1 to all saves. Monks get a bonus feat and rogues get a rogue talent which could be used to take a feat (depending on what talents have already been chosen). So if hes doing either one of those, he could work out the levels to where he can get Imp TWF next level, by either taking another level in monk or rogue now and then the fighter level at 8th, or if rogue, taking rogue next level and using the Combat Trick talent to get Imp TWF, assuming combat trick hasn't already been taken. Of course he might be a Bard 2/Cleric 3/Fighter 2 for all I know, so everything I just said might be meaningless.
Personnaly, I hate to use houserules which screws up certain class features, such as when one of my DMs houseruled that a natural 20 didn't need to be confirmed to be a critical; it spoiled a part of the level 20 fighter's Weapon Mastery, as well as render useless feats like "Critical Focus" which gives bonus to the confirming roll on crits.
It takes me to saying, I would not allow feat re-training like Kolokotroni offers since the fighter gets this exclusivity on changing his fighter feats.
But since I'm also fan of an old-school gameplay that wants the character to hone their new-found strenght before they suddenly acquire new abilities out of the blue, I would be in favor of delaying the use of the feat gained at a level-up.
At the condition that when he finally chooses it, he must take a feat that he met the prerequisite for at that said level.
Example: A 7th level fighter character could not save this very 7th level feat to use it on Greater Weapon focus, which demands 8th level fighter.
So, coming back to your own case, I wouldn't allow him to delay his feat for the later learning of an "presently prerequisite unmet feat". My bet is that if he invests in fighter levels, he gains a feat pretty much every level so choosing two-weapon fighting feats shouldn't be a problem when the time comes.