I feel its important to present evidence on how its actually the Umamusume group that is at fault for this situation. To get a VISA as an Athlete, artist, or entertainer. You need to fill out the I-129 Form. Processing time usually takes from 13-15 month as you can see "attached photo" The Umamusume group apparently sent in VISA requests 6 months ago. Which means they didn't even likely do it in time for processing length. Now there is a Premium processing form called (Form I-907). This form guarantees USCIS action within 15 business days for an additional fee of about $2,965 per petition. This is the required fee as of the March 2026 adjustment. Now at this time we have no idea if the participants paid for Premium Processing. We however do know they sent it in 6 months ago. So if we go by the information given, we can assume they didn't do Premium Processing. Also its worth noting the price as of March is way over 6 months ago. So it wasn't a change to fees after they sent in their application form. O-1 (extraordinary ability) and P-1/P-3 (athletes, entertainers, culturally unique artists) VISAs were created under the Immigration Act of 1990. They have always involved high evidentiary standards, required consultation with labor unions or peer groups, and been subject to security screening. Complaints about slow, inconsistent, or unpredictable processing date back at least to the early 2000s. After Post-9/11 and 2000s: Increased security scrutiny lengthened timelines making the processing of VISAs longer. Premium processing which I mentioned above comes into play here. (guaranteeing faster USCIS action for an extra fee) was introduced around 2001; arts groups noted that regular (non-premium) processing often lagged as a result thanks to a post 9/11 world. Now we move into the Biden years and post-COVID: Pandemic backlogs affected the broader system. Non-premium processing I-129 medians were relatively contained in some years, but O/P artist-specific processing began lengthening more noticeably from around mid-2024. Interview waiver rules were also being tightened. So in conclusion its a known issue that has been getting worse with time and Covid made it even worse with backing up the system. I am not saying Trump hasn't tighten the program, but to put it all on him is wrong. Overall this seems to be a case of not applying in time and likely refusing to purchase the Premium Processing.