If this is an 8251 or something like it, there is an RXRDY bit in the status port that becomes 1 when there is a character ready to read in the data port. You can read the status port and AND it with a mask that just leaves the interesting (RXRDY) bit intact. The z flag will then tell you if there is data ready in the data port. When you read the data port, the RXRDY flag will be reset by the USART.
HTH