diff --git a/pkg/oc/cli/cmd/importimage.go b/pkg/oc/cli/cmd/importimage.go
index f5ed7547b473..60551c69c46f 100644
--- a/pkg/oc/cli/cmd/importimage.go
+++ b/pkg/oc/cli/cmd/importimage.go
@@ -10,8 +10,7 @@ import (
 
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/fields"
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/watch"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/wait"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api/legacyscheme"
 	kapi "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/apis/core"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/kubectl/cmd/templates"
@@ -256,8 +255,7 @@ func (o *ImportImageOptions) Run() error {
 
 	fmt.Fprintln(o.out, "Importing (ctrl+c to stop waiting) ...")
 
-	resourceVersion := stream.ResourceVersion
-	updatedStream, err := o.waitForImport(resourceVersion)
+	updatedStream, err := o.waitForImport()
 	if err != nil {
 		if _, ok := err.(importError); ok {
 			return err
@@ -298,43 +296,26 @@ func (e importError) Error() string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("unable to import image: %s", e.annotation)
 }
 
-func (o *ImportImageOptions) waitForImport(resourceVersion string) (*imageapi.ImageStream, error) {
-	streamWatch, err := o.isClient.Watch(metav1.ListOptions{FieldSelector: fields.OneTermEqualSelector("metadata.name", o.Name).String(), ResourceVersion: resourceVersion})
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	defer streamWatch.Stop()
-
-	for {
-		select {
-		case event, ok := <-streamWatch.ResultChan():
-			if !ok {
-				return nil, fmt.Errorf("image stream watch ended prematurely")
-			}
-
-			switch event.Type {
-			case watch.Modified:
-				s, ok := event.Object.(*imageapi.ImageStream)
-				if !ok {
-					continue
-				}
-				annotation, ok := s.Annotations[imageapi.DockerImageRepositoryCheckAnnotation]
-				if !ok {
-					continue
-				}
-
-				if _, err := time.Parse(time.RFC3339, annotation); err == nil {
-					return s, nil
-				}
-				return nil, importError{annotation}
+func (o *ImportImageOptions) waitForImport() (*imageapi.ImageStream, error) {
+	var is *imageapi.ImageStream
+	err := wait.PollImmediate(1*time.Second, 60*time.Second, func() (bool, error) {
+		var err error
+		is, err = o.isClient.Get(o.Name, metav1.GetOptions{})
+		if err != nil {
+			return false, err
+		}
+		annotation, ok := is.Annotations[imageapi.DockerImageRepositoryCheckAnnotation]
+		if !ok {
+			return false, nil
+		}
 
-			case watch.Deleted:
-				return nil, fmt.Errorf("the image stream was deleted")
-			case watch.Error:
-				return nil, fmt.Errorf("error watching image stream")
-			}
+		if _, err := time.Parse(time.RFC3339, annotation); err != nil {
+			return false, importError{annotation}
 		}
-	}
+
+		return true, nil
+	})
+	return is, err
 }
 
 func (o *ImportImageOptions) createImageImport() (*imageapi.ImageStream, *imageapi.ImageStreamImport, error) {