Mom who couldn't see dying son due to travel ban granted waiver

A Yemeni mother who was denied entry to the U.S. under a controversial travel ban has been granted a visa and a travel waiver, the Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) told CBS News.

CAIR had called for authorities to swiftly issue the visa to Shaima Swileh, a Yemeni national living in Egypt, so she can see her 2-year-old son Abdullah Hassan one last time.

The child, a U.S. citizen, has been on life support at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in Oakland for the past month. He was born with a brain condition that caused weekly seizures, according to his father, Ali Hassan. The Trump administration's travel ban, which applies to travelers from mostly Muslim majority nations, has been keeping Swileh from entering the U.S. — "literally separating family from each other," according to Hassan.

"I'm literally seeing my son dying in front of my eyes," Hassan told CBS News' Mireya Villarreal.

Hassan is a U.S. citizen living in Stockton, California. His son was born in Yemen and later became a U.S. citizen. In October, Hassan brought his son from Cairo to the U.S. for medical treatment. That was the last time the toddler saw his mother.

Doctors have indicated the child may not be able to survive on life support much longer.

CAIR told CBS News' Villarreal that Swileh has been granted a visa for relatives of U.S. citizens and a travel ban waiver. The family was notified early Tuesday.

The travel ban includes certain exemptions and allows for waiver applications for undue hardship if entry is denied, if the admission is in the national interest and won't pose a national security risk, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

The visa Swileh was issued will allow her to stay in the U.S. regardless of what happens to the boy and continue with the process of becoming a citizen, Villarreal reports.