diff --git a/CHANGELOG.rst b/CHANGELOG.rst
index c0c54abde196..e695855af78d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.rst
+++ b/CHANGELOG.rst
@@ -2,6 +2,14 @@
 CHANGELOG
 =========
 
+Next Release (TBD)
+==================
+
+* bugfix:``aws emr ssh``: Fix issue when using waiter interface to
+  wait on the cluster state
+  (`issue 954 <https://github.com/aws/aws-cli/pull/954>`__)
+
+
 1.5.2
 =====
 
diff --git a/awscli/customizations/emr/sshutils.py b/awscli/customizations/emr/sshutils.py
index 34e8809cde3e..119dd8d4499e 100644
--- a/awscli/customizations/emr/sshutils.py
+++ b/awscli/customizations/emr/sshutils.py
@@ -41,10 +41,11 @@ def validate_and_find_master_dns(session, parsed_globals, cluster_id):
     endpoint = emrutils.get_endpoint(emr, parsed_globals)
 
     try:
-        cluster_running_waiter = emr.get_waiter('ClusterRunning')
+        cluster_running_waiter = emr.get_waiter('ClusterRunning',
+                                                endpoint)
         if cluster_state in constants.STARTING_STATES:
             print("Waiting for the cluster to start.")
-        cluster_running_waiter.wait(endpoint, ClusterId=cluster_id)
+        cluster_running_waiter.wait(ClusterId=cluster_id)
     except WaiterError:
         raise exceptions.MasterDNSNotAvailableError
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/customizations/emr/test_sshutils.py b/tests/unit/customizations/emr/test_sshutils.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..0ce5ff13d374
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/customizations/emr/test_sshutils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+# Copyright 2014 Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"). You
+# may not use this file except in compliance with the License. A copy of
+# the License is located at
+#
+#     http://aws.amazon.com/apache2.0/
+#
+# or in the "license" file accompanying this file. This file is
+# distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF
+# ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific
+# language governing permissions and limitations under the License.
+import mock
+
+from awscli.customizations.emr import sshutils
+from awscli.customizations.emr import exceptions
+from awscli.testutils import unittest
+
+
+class TestSSHUtils(unittest.TestCase):
+
+    @mock.patch('awscli.customizations.emr.sshutils.emrutils')
+    def test_validate_and_find_master_dns_waits(self, emrutils):
+        emrutils.get_cluster_state.return_value = 'STARTING'
+        session = mock.Mock()
+        fake_endpoint = mock.sentinel.fake_endpoint
+        emrutils.get_endpoint.return_value = fake_endpoint
+
+        sshutils.validate_and_find_master_dns(session, None, 'cluster-id')
+
+        # We should have:
+        # 1. Waiter for the cluster to be running.
+        session.get_service.return_value.get_waiter.assert_called_with(
+            'ClusterRunning', fake_endpoint)
+        service = session.get_service.return_value
+        service.get_waiter.return_value.wait.assert_called_with(
+            ClusterId='cluster-id')
+
+        # 2. Found the master public DNS
+        self.assertTrue(emrutils.find_master_public_dns.called)
+
+    @mock.patch('awscli.customizations.emr.sshutils.emrutils')
+    def test_cluster_in_terminated_states(self, emrutils):
+        emrutils.get_cluster_state.return_value = 'TERMINATED'
+        with self.assertRaises(exceptions.ClusterTerminatedError):
+            sshutils.validate_and_find_master_dns(
+                mock.Mock(), None, 'cluster-id')