(KCCI) DES MOINES, Iowa —
People who have kept their distance from friends and family over the last year are starting to gather again as they get vaccinated against coronavirus.

But a Des Moines man is feeling helpless. Michael Nairn’s fiancée and 9-month-old son, Noah, are stuck on another continent with no end in sight.

“In the beginning, it was really sad for me because I felt like I was just a video screen to him, he didn’t understand. And I was thinking, ‘How is my son ever gonna know me? How are we gonna bond? Then when we do see each other, is he even gonna want to come to me?'” Nairn said.

Noah lives in the Philippines with his mother, Maria Corazon. She wants to move to Iowa, but the pandemic has put her visa process on hold.

Maria went through her pregnancy without her fiancée by her side.

“It’s very difficult for me, because I’m a first time mom,” Corazon said.

Daily video chats will have to do for Mike and his daughter McKaylee, who are both waiting to welcome Noah and his mother home.

“I’m always on the U.S. Embassy website,” Nairn said. “Every like 15 to 20 days they post an update and it’s always ‘alright, we’re going to be closed again for another month.’ And ‘OK we’re going to be closed again.'”