There is something to having a degree of quid pro quo and not just being a stepping stone to more powerful nations.
My wife is usually quiet when we do immigration because I carry the passports and know the process (a bit silly, since she’s been through it almost as many times as I, but they need to be in one place and I carry that bag), but at the land border I’ve had to wake her up to get her to talk. She asked why one time. I said, you have a US passport, we have different last names, they have to make sure I’m not a human trafficker with a fake passport for you.
Then she got Global Entry and that issue went away. They know both of us.
Did you say you were going to the US to play golf or is this a reference to the debate?
There's a school of thought that thinks such approaches to questioning works, another that thinks it doesn't - but in general border agents look more for body language and reactions rather than correct answers to trivia questions.
Some say the best way to be forgotton | passed through | overlooked by aircrew and border agents is to rapidly get "bucketed" into a category group .. too many drinks and make a loud pass at staff, for example, and you're in the "drunken bore" group.