Key West, Fla. - Dark red and blue "Conch Republic" passports could pass for real travel documents - and that's part of the appeal.
"Alright Matt, we're gonna get your passport picture," said Sir Peter Anderson, the so-called Secretary General of the Conch Republic by way of "prime ministerial appointment," as he picked up his digital camera.
I'm about to become a citizen of another country. Except I haven't left the United States. I'm in Key West, also known as the Conch Republic - since their mock secession in 1982.
The Conch Republic is not a real country, of course, but trying telling that to Anderson who makes his living off this mythical Margaritaville.
"Absolutely without question" this is a real country, said Anderson from his home office. "When the U.S. didn't object to our sovereignty after 12 years by the most stringent international standards they lost any right to do so."
Sir Peter calls the Conch Republic the world's "first fifth world nation." And for him, this nation is big business. He's trademarked all sorts of slogans and bumper stickers. But most of Anderson's money comes from selling real looking passports.
For $100 you can become a citizen. For $10,000 you can become an ambassador, able to "hob knob with the world's elite" and "enjoy high prestige," according to his Web site.
So is $100, $800, or $10,000 excessive for novelty passports?
"Well you know I'll stay out of your pocket if you stay out of mine," said Anderson.
It's hard to know how much is in Sir Peter's pockets. He declined to show his tax records but says his business has made him at least $1 million over 20 years, saying he's "issued" 20,000 Conch passports over two decades to anyone who orders one.
"We don't represent our passports as being valid travel documents," said Anderson. "That said people have been accepted on them all over the world. I've been admitted on multiple occasions into the United States on my diplomatic passport."
A closer look at the passport shows why some countries might be fooled. Nothing indicates it's not legit. In fact, some might think it's deliberately misleading, saying the document is "valid for all legal purposes when traveling."
"There are a number of countries around the world, at least 17 if not more, that have accepted me as a diplomat into their country," said Anderson. "Everybody from German to the United States of America all through the Caribbean."
"Shouldn't it say somewhere on them that they are for novelty purposes only?," asked Fox 4 reporter Matt Grant.
"No," said Anderson. "There's no requirement for us to do that."
That's because he says people who order the passports from him know it's all a joke. And he doesn't think they jeopardize U.S. security.
"Not at all," said Anderson. "Nor do I think anybody in the United States security apparatus thinks so."
Fox 4 cameras caught stacks of passport applications in Sir Peter's office which appear to be from overseas. The first application we saw, out in the open, came from Nigeria and included an attached photograph.
Four In Your Corner asked Key West Mayor Craig Cates why a Nigerian would shell out $100 for a souvenir passport that isn't real - unless they viewed this as a gateway into the U.S.
"I have no idea," said Cates. "If they wanted a counterfeit passport they'd go make themselves one."
Which apparently they're doing. In fact, there's such a demand for counterfeit Conch passports in Nigeria that Anderson had to issue a warning on his Web site.
"Do you worry that people overseas will apply for this passport in the hopes of gaining false citizenship to the United States?," asked Grant.
"Well we've had that situation occur," admitted Anderson. "When we become aware of people brokering our passports to their countrymen with exactly that idea in mind that this is some magic door, backdoor in the United States we discourage that perception in every way that we can."
After Sept. 11, the FBI officially investigated whether Sir Peter sold a passport to one of the hijackers. It was never proven. The article is framed above his desk.
He now claims to work closely with Homeland Security.
Fox 4 spent more than eight hours trying to get somebody from the U.S. government to comment on this story. After being bounced from agency-to-agency, we were either told this is not their jurisdiction or simply not an issue.
Homeland Security, the State Department, the Justice Department, Customs and Border Patrol and the Monroe County Sheriff all declined to comment - despite the fact that brochures advertising the passport show immigration stamps, including one which appears to be from the U.S.
If tourists are at all confused about the passport's authenticity, the city isn't exactly helping things.
At Key West International Airport, travelers are greeted with a "Welcome to the Conch Republic" sign, a giant mural of the blue Conch flag and a mayor who refers to himself as the "prime minister."
Anderson's dream is to see the Conch Republic recognized across the world as a legitimate country. For now, though, he says his island nation represents what's best about America.
But he's still claiming dual citizenship.
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