Originally Posted by gglave
In places like Canada and the US these roles are mostly combined into one person, so there are more questions. I think these questions are mostly just delaying tactics to see if you start to get nervous or sweat, or to see if the illegal parrot in your carryon starts demanding a cracker.
When entering Canada or the US, I've always found that you see the immigration person first, then collect luggage and then go to the customs area to hand your form to a customs person who may decide to ask more questions or search (randomly or otherwise), although the immigration person does look at your customs declaration and writes on it.