Originally Posted by
GUWonder
When it comes to not answering questions beyond that on the declaration form, avoiding permanent referral to secondary is not a matter of "exceptions to prove the rule". Rather, permanent referral to secondary would be the exception rather than the common outcome.
Some "otherwise law-abiding and non-suspicious people" get permanent secondary inspection because they answered questions. That happens sometimes too, perhaps even way more often than for not having a willingness to discuss more than what was listed on the printed declaration form.
Not necessarily avoiding anything, But managing expectation's that's covers all possible scenarios regardless of perceived frequency. There's many ways to get a permanent referral. One of them is not answering questions.