Ali Hassan, 22, and his son, Abdullah, are American citizens, but Hassan's wife, Shaima Swileh, lives in Egypt. Because she is Yemeni, she's restricted from traveling to the United States under the White House travel ban.
There are exceptions to the ban and lawyers with the Council on American-Islamic Relations are working with the State Department to secure an expedited visa so Swileh can see Abdullah while he's still alive.
"Time is running out for my son, to be honest," Hassan told CNN. "All she wishes is to see her son, and that's it. We want to be together."
Abdullah, whose birthday was Saturday, is suffering from a genetic brain condition, and his father flew him to the States for treatment on October 1. It was the last time his mother saw him.
Doctors have told Hassan that patients like his son are usually on life support for two or three weeks, or at maximum, a month. Abdullah has been on a ventilator at University of California San Francisco's Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland for more than a month, his father said.
"It's really bad," he said.
Hassan hopes the Tuesday morning call beckoning his wife to the embassy means good news, but he hasn't heard anything from consular officials, he said.
"Your case is still processing. That's all I get from them," he said.
On Monday, Basim Elkarra, the executive director of CAIR's Sacramento Valley chapter, said Hassan was filing paperwork for an expedited humanitarian visa. Processing for such requests can take up to 10 days, he said.
If she is granted the visa, Swileh still has a journey ahead of her, as the shortest flights with the fewest stops to San Francisco can last 20 hours or more.
"Our hearts are breaking for this family," CAIR attorney Saad Sweilem said. "The loss of a child is something no parent should experience, but not being able to be there in your child's last moments is unfathomably cruel."
The hospital said it empathizes with the boy's family.
"UCSF and the Benioff Children's Hospitals support the family's desire to come together in Abdullah's final days. In the meantime, we are doing everything we can to keep the child comfortable and help the family through this difficult experience," it said in a statement.
Swileh cries every day, and she calls Hassan saying she just wants to see her son and "give him a kiss before he goes," the father said.
"She's going crazy," he said.
Though President Donald Trump's travel ban -- billed as a means of thwarting terrorists' entry into the United States -- has drawn legal challenges, the executive order still restricts nationals of Yemen and six other countries from entering the country.
According to the State Department, consular officers can make exceptions to the travel restriction when a visa's "issuance is in the national interest, the applicant poses no national security or public safety threat to the United States, and denial of the visa would cause undue hardship."
Reached for comment, a State Department official said the government cannot discuss individual visa cases.
"The Department of State makes every effort to facilitate legitimate travel by international visitors. We are also fully committed to administering US immigration law and ensuring the integrity and security of our country's borders," the official said.
Asked if he had a message for Trump, Hassan issued a simple plea.
"All families, they're supposed to be together. Right now, with my son's situation, he's facing death. I'm going through losing my son. It's really hard for me and for my mother and for my family and my wife, too. It's just really hard."
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