diff --git a/tools/pubsys/src/aws/ami/mod.rs b/tools/pubsys/src/aws/ami/mod.rs
index 1851788fc89..9b6c610d33f 100644
--- a/tools/pubsys/src/aws/ami/mod.rs
+++ b/tools/pubsys/src/aws/ami/mod.rs
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 mod register;
 mod snapshot;
-mod wait;
+pub(crate) mod wait;
 
 use crate::aws::publish_ami::{get_snapshots, modify_image, modify_snapshots};
 use crate::aws::{client::build_client, region_from_string};
diff --git a/tools/pubsys/src/aws/publish_ami/mod.rs b/tools/pubsys/src/aws/publish_ami/mod.rs
index fd98a40b6e1..603f1bf8bf7 100644
--- a/tools/pubsys/src/aws/publish_ami/mod.rs
+++ b/tools/pubsys/src/aws/publish_ami/mod.rs
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 //! The publish_ami module owns the 'publish-ami' subcommand and controls the process of granting
 //! and revoking public access to EC2 AMIs.
 
-use crate::aws::{ami::Image, client::build_client, region_from_string};
+use crate::aws::ami::wait::{self, wait_for_ami};
+use crate::aws::ami::Image;
+use crate::aws::client::build_client;
+use crate::aws::region_from_string;
 use crate::config::InfraConfig;
 use crate::Args;
 use futures::future::{join, ready};
@@ -136,6 +139,29 @@ pub(crate) async fn run(args: &Args, publish_args: &PublishArgs) -> Result<()> {
         ec2_clients.insert(region.clone(), ec2_client);
     }
 
+    // If AMIs aren't in "available" state, we can get a DescribeImages response that includes
+    // most of the data we need, but not snapshot IDs.
+    info!("Waiting for AMIs to be available...");
+    let mut wait_requests = Vec::with_capacity(amis.len());
+    for (region, image) in &amis {
+        let wait_future = wait_for_ami(&image.id, &region, &base_region, "available", 1, &aws);
+        // Store the region and ID so we can include it in errors
+        let info_future = ready((region.clone(), image.id.clone()));
+        wait_requests.push(join(info_future, wait_future));
+    }
+    // Send requests in parallel and wait for responses, collecting results into a list.
+    let request_stream = stream::iter(wait_requests).buffer_unordered(4);
+    let wait_responses: Vec<((Region, String), std::result::Result<(), wait::Error>)> =
+        request_stream.collect().await;
+
+    // Make sure waits succeeded and AMIs are available.
+    for ((region, image_id), wait_response) in wait_responses {
+        wait_response.context(error::WaitAmi {
+            id: &image_id,
+            region: region.name(),
+        })?;
+    }
+
     let snapshots = get_regional_snapshots(&amis, &ec2_clients).await?;
     trace!("Found snapshots: {:?}", snapshots);
 
@@ -453,7 +479,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn modify_regional_images(
 }
 
 mod error {
-    use crate::aws;
+    use crate::aws::{self, ami};
     use rusoto_core::RusotoError;
     use rusoto_ec2::{ModifyImageAttributeError, ModifySnapshotAttributeError};
     use snafu::Snafu;
@@ -575,6 +601,13 @@ mod error {
         UnknownRegions {
             regions: Vec<String>,
         },
+
+        #[snafu(display("AMI '{}' in {} did not become available: {}", id, region, source))]
+        WaitAmi {
+            id: String,
+            region: String,
+            source: ami::wait::Error,
+        },
     }
 }
 pub(crate) use error::Error;