VFR RESTRICTION GIVEN BY CTLR IN ERROR WHILE FLT WAS IN IMC.

Narrative

WE ASKED FOR AN IFR CLRNC FOR THE ILS INTO SAN JOSE. OAKLAND CENTER CLRED US TO DESCEND TO 8000' ON A 360 HEADING. WE ADVISED THAT IN ORDER TO COMPLY WE WOULD HAVE TO HAVE A CLRNC SOON. WE WERE THEN CLRED TO SAN JOSE; RADAR VECTORS FOR THE ILS; ASKED FOR A GOOD RATE OF DESCENT (WE GAVE 3500'/MIN) AND AN INTERCEPT FOR THE ILS. WE WERE THEN CLRED AND AN INTERCEPT FOR THE ILS. WE WERE THEN CLRED TO INTERCEPT THE LOC AND MAINTAIN 8000' AND HANDED OFF TO BAY APCH ON 120.1. OUR SPEED AT THIS POINT WAS 240 KTS INDICATED. ON HANDOFF WE WERE TOLD TO TURN RIGHT OT 360 DEG; DESCEND TO 4000' AND REMAIN VFR. AT THIS POINT WE FLEW INTO SOLID IMC WHICH WE REPORTED. THE CTLR SOUNDED REALLY TENSE; FOR THE REMAINDER OF AN UNEVENTFUL ILS TO SAN JOSE. PROBLEM: WE HAD AN IFR CLRNC FROM CENTER BUT BAY APPEARED TO HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF IT AND ISSUED VECTORS WHICH PUT US IN IMC BEFORE THE 'REMAIN VFR' PART OF HIS CLRNC. TO OUR KNOWLEDGE NO HAZARD WAS CAUSED BUT THE POTENTIAL DOES EXIST AND CAUSES SOME CONCERN ON OUR PART. ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF THE OBVIOUS EFFECT ON THE CTLR. THE HANDLING WAS AS THOUGH WE WERE STUDENT PLTS. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH REPORTER REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION: RPTR FOUND OUT WHEN HE CALLED THE TRACON THAT THE INCIDENT OCCURRED BECAUSE OF A 'PAPERWORK' PROBLEM IN THE TRACON. WHEN RPTR WAS INBOUND TO SJC AS A VFR FLT RECEIVING ADVISORIES FROM THE CENTER; THIS GENERATED A FLT PROGRESS STRIP AT THE APCH CTLR POS THAT SHOWED THE FLT TO BE VFR. WHEN RPTR FILED IFR ABOUT EIGHTY MILES FROM DEST; ANOTHER FLT PROGRESS STRIP WAS GENERATED SHOWING THE FLT TO BE IFR. BOTH STRIPS WERE AT THE APPROPRIATE POS IN THE TRACON. THE CTLR PICKED UP THE WRONG STRIP DURING THE HANDOFF; AND THOUGHT THE ACFT WAS VFR. WITH THE HIGH SPEED OF RPTR'S ACFT; THE CTLR'S FIRST THOUGHT WAS TO VECTOR FOR SPACING OFF THE LOC. THE VFR RESTRICTION GIVEN TO RPTR WAS GIVEN BECAUSE CTLR THOUGHT THE FLT WAS VFR. NO LOSS OF SEP OCCURRED AND RPTR'S ACFT DID NOT GET LOW ENOUGH TO CAUSE TERRAIN CONFLICT. AS SOON AS RPTR TOLD CTLR HE WAS IN CLDS; CTLR THOUGHT PLT HAD ENTERED CLDS WITHOUT CLRNC. THIS WAS THE REASON RPTR WAS ASKED TO CALL TRACON AFTER LNDG.