Makeleleroll

From my experience when I'm getting my passport stamped after international travel, the CBP officer asks a question like "How was your trip?" or "Do anything fun?" but they don't seem genuine, probably because he/she is trying to observe my behavior when answering. I don't think they are just being nice and trying to be pleasant. Has there ever been a time when you or a CBP officer you know asked a simple question like that and the answer raised suspicion? Or am I just being paranoid and the CBP officers are just trying to make small talk? How are you trained to look/listen for cues that the person coming into the country is shady?

Thanks for answering this. I guess I feel bad now cuz you don't get much substantial interaction with people when you're in the booth. Hope you often get breaks!

What was the internal sentiment and reaction among your fellow CBP peers and management when things got interesting with the new administration?

Questions about the academy: How long is the academy training? Is it the same for most CBP officers? Most challenging part of the academy? Most interesting or surprising moment you experienced at the academy?