According to the definition developed by Ruth Hill Useem, TCKs are people who have spent a significant part of their developmental years outside their parents' culture.
Upon returning to their passport country, MKs possess unique skills that can be helpful to academics and governments.
Children who immigrate to the United States have similar experience to MKs when it comes to learning a new culture and making cross-cultural transitions.
But according to Pollack and Van Reken, what truly distinguishes MKs from children who immigrate to the United States or other countries is "the full expectation that after living for a significant period of their developmental years outside their passport culture, there will come the day when TCKs make a permanent return to that country and culture.
"[6] MKs return to their passport country for many reasons, including the beginning of their college education, a shift in their parents' career, and even evacuation in more extreme cases.
Anxiety and depressions are the two emotions most commonly associated with cross-cultural transitions, caused by a sense of vulnerability and loss of control.
[8] Mu Kappa aims to help MKs and other TCKs with the transition to American culture and college life.
These seminars typically take place during the summer before an MK's freshman year of college and teach MKs the basics of everyday life in America, including putting gas in a car, opening a bank account, grocery shopping, and many other everyday tasks.
[9] Additionally, these seminar can help MKs understand how to deal with the grief of permanently transitioning back to their passport country in a healthy way, and how to manage the stress of a new environment and reverse culture shock.