Originally Posted by
mnbp
Yes, of course, declare everything. No money will actually be charged. The amount of alcohol that could fit in a suitcase is unlikely to cost more than a couple of dollars duty - which is why they typically don't bother collecting any duty on personal alcohol. To give an idea, duty on a bottle of wine is something like 10-15 cents. Duty is charged on the alcohol content, not on the value of the wine as an example.
You're suggesting that the previous poster provide false information in the answer to the instruction "Visitors: Declare all goods that will remain in the United States." That would probably raise more questions for the CBP officer: (What will you be doing with those bottles of wine/spirits/whatever during your 2 hour layover? Drinking them? Giving them away? To whom?)
That instruction on the form is different from the instructions to US Citizens, which is "Declare all items acquired abroad."