Being in a reasonable amount of debt is fine and expected. It's when your debt is clearly outside your ability to pay it back, you are delinquent/in default on multiple accounts, or the debt you have shows a potential for exploitation. For example, if you're in debt 17K because of gambling, that's a red flag. A car, credit cards, and student loan are normal. See the difference? Clearances are always the whole person concept. Anything that the system flags will get reviewed, and that reviewer may send it to an investigator to come interview you and ask some questions. Be honest and just tell them what happened and what your plan is. The investigator will write a report and kick it back up the chain. There may be follow on questions, there may not. Personally, I wouldn't stress over 17K in debt unless your lender was El Chapo or something.