diff --git a/src/hdmf/backends/hdf5/h5tools.py b/src/hdmf/backends/hdf5/h5tools.py
index 7a644f0b7..7c6438f36 100644
--- a/src/hdmf/backends/hdf5/h5tools.py
+++ b/src/hdmf/backends/hdf5/h5tools.py
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ def __resolve_file_obj(cls, path, file_obj, driver):
         if file_obj is None:
             file_kwargs = dict()
             if driver is not None:
-                file_kwargs.update(driver=driver)
+                file_kwargs.update(driver=driver, aws_region=bytes("us-east-2", "ascii"))
             file_obj = File(path, 'r', **file_kwargs)
         return file_obj
 
@@ -757,6 +757,9 @@ def open(self):
             if self.driver is not None:
                 kwargs.update(driver=self.driver)
 
+                if self.driver == "ros3":
+                    kwargs.update(aws_region=bytes("us-east-2", "ascii"))
+
             self.__file = File(self.source, open_flag, **kwargs)
 
     def close(self, close_links=True):