Dominican tourist to the US with US citizen

I'm a US citizen living in the Dominican Republic with a pensioner's visa.  Well, my immigration process is nearly complete... the hearing and medical are done; I'm only waiting for my cedula appointment, but I'm not sure this is relevant for the following question.

I'm planning to return to the US for a few months in April and wanted to take a Dominican friend with me.  He does not have his passport right now but should have it before April 2024.  I've checked the US State Travel web site and the US Embassy in DR site and found the following:

•     he can apply for a tourist visa which is good for 6 months.  However, according to the US Embassy in DR page, the wait time for approval is 317 days.
•     there is a visa waiver system in place for certain countries which allows those citizens to travel to the US for 90 days without getting a tourist visa.  However, the DR is not one of the accepted/allowed countries for the waiver.

Is it even possible for me take this friend with me in April?  We would be there for no more than 4 months then return here to the DR.  He's not there to work, to get married, or anything else.  Just visiting and he'd be with me the entire time.  Is there a waiver we can get if he's with a US citizen (me) the entire time there? 

This all just seems weird, that it takes to long to be approved, and that it's so difficult for foreigners to travel to the US.  I mean, foreigners visit there all the time.