re: What are the limits on executive orders?

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EO are only supposed to be used to clarify existing laws as passed by congress and signed into law by a president.

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This is not entirely true. A lot of them are used for this purpose, but a great many are not. They are often based on statutorily granted authority and/or constitutional executive power.

Executive orders are just directives to federal agencies. You can't as president say "I hereby grant amnesty to all these people." It doesn't work that way. It would have to do with bureaucratic action, but it cannot contradict any existing statute.

Executive orders only have whatever limits the president gives them when they are signed -- there is no set time frame. They do not expire unless the president explicitly provides that they expire. They can be reversed by another executive order (so when you see a new president from the other party come into office, a lot of older orders are quickly revoked). Congress could override an order by passing a law, or, if someone were to sue, the court system could declare it either unconstitutional or unlawful depending on what is at issue.