Timing of DCF

Hi.  I'm hoping someone can help me figure out the timing of when my son-in-law should try to have his medical exam and then interview for his visa.  He and my daughter submitted their I-130 about 4 weeks ago, so we should hear something soon about that.  They can't travel to the States any sooner than April 1, and ideally more like sometime during May or early June.  On the other hand, they are anxious to get the medical done, have his interview and hopefully approval, so that they/we can stop worrying about that part.  Am I right in my understanding that once he has his interview, he must arrive in the US within 6 months?  If that is the case, is there ever an extension to that? Depending on how quickly (or not) DCFs are being processed, it may all be a moot point, but it would be good to know what the options are.  Thanks!

I don't think you can extend the validity of the visa. If you go here http://london.usembassy.gov/niv/visa_contact_form.html

You can send them a question and they are pretty good about answering. Its pretty much the only way to get in touch with the London Embassy now in regards to visas.

Thanks, kbeech.  We will write and ask using that link., though I suspect you are probably right and it cannot be extended. 

I'm not sure how the Embassy in London schedules their appointments, but when we did it in Dublin we were able to schedule ours based on our potential moving date in June. I can't remember if we received a letter or they called us, but they wanted to have our appointment in December. We were going to be out of town (plus, it was a little early) and we were able to schedule the appointment for January. We moved in June, right before our 6 months was up.

visajourney.com is a good resource for DCF information as well. Not sure if you have tried that forum, but it is dedicated to those emigrating to the US.