This executive order recites that some employers have used the H-1B non-immigrant visa program to put downward pressure on domestic pay by hiring foreign workers who are willing to take less money than the United States citizens which has resulted in employers laying off large numbers of skilled American workers, only to hire large numbers of lower skilled and paid H–1B workers. Therefore, the order directs the secretary of state, the secretary of labor and the secretary of homeland security, in consultation with other cabinet officers, to ensure the compliance of H-1B petitions, applications and visas with statutory requirements and to take into account whether the employer sponsor has engaged in layoffs within the previous year or plans future layoffs that negatively affect the employment of similarly situated United States workers. The order also gives the secretary of state, secretary of labor, the secretary of commerce and the secretary of homeland security the authority to adopt rules and policies to carry out the order.