Originally Posted by
polonius
In any case, back to the OP's question -- anyone visiting the USA is REQUIRED to answer the questions on the customs declaration and sign under penalty of perjury. No one is required to answer any additional questions. I cannot recall if there is a question about the "purpose" of travel on the form -- how about "because it's there"?
There is a question in the customs form asking for the purpose of travel (business or leisure are the choices), but if I recall correctly, it explicitly asks of visitors their purpose of coming to the US, while it asks of US citizens or residents the purpose of their trip abroad. There is nothing in there about asking US citizens of their purpose in returning to the US.