Bernadette Romulo has spent the past five months on bridging visas, trying to appeal the federal government’s decision to deport her.

On Thursday, she was told she had until July 11 to leave the country, a move which would tear her away from her eight-year-old son Giro.

The young boy was born in Australia and can not leave the country due to partial custody arrangements with his father.

The mother-of-three arrived in Australia in 2006 on a 457 visa with her first husband and two daughters, now aged 12 and 13, before their marriage failed.

The aged care nurse subsequently had Giro with a man she separated from in 2012.

Ms Romulo then put in a bid for permanent residency, but was knocked back in December last year.

Despite raising more than 36,000 signatures in an online petition calling for Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to intervene, Ms Romulo said she has been given a deadline to leave.

“As a mother who has been struggling to keep this family together, after hearing the most devastating news of my life, I just cried and cried for almost two hours, my whole body was shaking and I wanted to explode,” she posted to the petition's website.

On Tuesday, Ms Romulo said her son Giro was “doing his best”.

“Even if they really want us to go, I can’t take Giro out of Australia so what can I do,” she said.

In a statement given to Fairfax Media in May, Assistant Home Affairs Minister Alex Hawke’s office said the case had been “comprehensively assessed”.

“The Assistant Minister only intervenes in a relatively small number of cases which present unique and exceptional circumstances,” the statement read.

“It would be inappropriate to confirm further details, including individual circumstances, relating to this case.

“Child custody matters are beyond the scope of this Department and are addressed through the appropriate jurisdiction of family law.”