Thanks to a fourth quarter rise in economy, the U.S. reached the 85,000 H-1B visa cap late last month

And, according to data recently released by the AFL-CIO labor union, most of the visa-holders are less than 35-years-old and most likely from India. About half work in computer-related occupations.

The government data has shown a largely consistent pattern of visa usage. For instance, 54% of 2008 visa recipients were from India, close to the percentage from the past several years, according to the USCIS reports. Two thirds of H-1B petitions approved in 2008 were for workers between the ages of 25 and 34, compared to 48% in 2007 and 66% in 2006.

The relative youthfulness of H-1B petitioners is likely to reinforce the concerns of visa critics who contend that the pool of young of workers is helping to foster age discrimination in the IT workplace.

Indian nationals are the dominant recipients of the visa. Of the total number of H-1B visas issued for initial employment in 2008, for example, 61,739 were to workers from India, followed by 9,157, or 8.8%, from China. Canadians accounted for 3,968 visas or 3.9% of the total, and the Philippines, 3,957, or 3.5%.