I think there might be something to this NZ,CA,AU,VZ Corporations = new states, thing.

NEW STARS WILL BE REVEALED

It looks like the first stop on the road to statehood is incorporation.

>The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.

it's really hard to find info on this because you have to filter out all the pages just talking about incorporating a small business in 'X' state.

LegalANONS is this worth digging into?

Is a US territory a just an incorporated US Company till it gains statehood through application to become one?