Applying for a US tourist visa while solely intending to transit [closed]

I'm a non-VWP eligible EU citizen looking to fly from London to Peru (LHR-EWR-LIM with a 1 hour 55 mn stopover). I need to obtain a visa to transit through the US. I can either get a C-1 transit visa or B-2 tourist visa. Both require an in-person interview and carry the same fee.

Obviously no one knows but I'm fairly confident I can obtain a tourist visa as a full-time student with a job and very sizeable savings. My only concern is that I only have the intention of transiting through the US without leaving the airport and no later plans to enter the US. Is that likely to be an issue while applying for a B-2 visa? I intend to be 100% honest in my application and interview so if that's an issue, I'll just apply for C-1. Alternatively, I can book a flight which has a longer, say 36 hour or so layover in New York, which supposedly would make me a more genuine tourist but I'd rather avoid that.